Indonesian Bank Ekonomi Upgrades Core Banking System

IBM Corporation
announced HSBC-owned PT Bank
Ekonomi Raharja, Tbk (BER), Indonesia’s financial
institutions, has upgraded its core banking system with IBM Power Systems
servers and enterprise-level IBM System Storage DS8700 products.

BER’s new infrastructure enables the bank to streamline its businesses
processes and expand its services to meet the demands of a rapidly growing
customer base.

Indonesia, with an estimated population of
240 million people, is the world’s fourth most populous nation and is one of
the fastest growing economies in Asia.

BER, acquired by HSBC Holdings in 2009,
turned to IBM earlier this year to put in place a technology infrastructure to help meet its evolving needs.

"BER
recognizes the role of technology in transforming operations and enabling
growth," said Endy Abdurrahman, credit and operational risk director bank
Ekonomi. "This key improvement in
our IT infrastructure will strengthen our business performance, which in turn
will help us provide advanced client service as well as adhere to compliance
regulations. Specifically, the capabilities of IBM Power Systems and the DS8700
enterprise storage products support our growth plans and helps us drive
efficiencies while enhancing client service."

IBM maintains a strong presence in
Indonesia with nine branches, including the branch
office in Bandung.

Suryo Suwignjo, president director of IBM
Indonesia, said, "The new
infrastructure in place enables BER to improve access to financial services for
rural households and businesses and to bring innovative services such as mobile
and online banking to remote regions of Indonesia, including populations
currently not served."

Under the agreement signed in June, IBM provided
and implemented a solution consisting of IBM Power 770 and Power 750 systems,
together with the DS8700 enterprise storage and i-HA clustering.

Headquartered in Jakarta, BER employs over
2600 employees in 97 offices in 29 cities.