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Articles from April 2007

ING Investment Management Rebuilds Reference Data System with .NET and SQL

ING Investment Management Americas, the U.S. investment arm of ING Group, has leveraged Microsoft SQL Server 2005, .NET Framework 2.0 and ASP.NET to create a unique real-time solution for accessing and analyzing reference data. The ING application, called Relative Value Application, analyzes securities to determine their investment potential and streamlines the management and use of reference data. It gives ING employees the opportunity not only to retrieve data from multiple places, perform complex transformations and distribute the data to multiple destinations, but also to fulfill stringent reporting requirements.

Post-Merger Howard Hanna Streamlines Mortgage Business with Mortgage Builder

A few years after its merger with Cleveland-based Smythe Kramer, and with its mortgage business now topping three-quarters of a billion dollars in originations based on last year’s totals, Pittsburgh-based full service real estate services firm Howard Hanna has moved to standardize the mortgage systems its different businesses have been using.

Lloyd’s New Ark Syndicate Launched with Northdoor for Claims Management

Ark Syndicate Management, a newly launched UK-based company, which will begin writing policies April 1, used Microsoft-based N-DEX from Northdoor to launch quickly with customized policy and claims administration. The syndicate, which is Lloyd's newest managing agency, “will underwrite a composite account to include casualty reinsurance, hull and cargo, marine aviation and transit reinsurance, energy, war and property direct and facultative, property reinsurance and marine and energy liability,” said Lloyd's.

Emerging Technologies: PASSing Cash Management Services to Small Businesses With Vista

By Don Canning
Emerging Business Team, Microsoft

Financial institutions have recently recognized the opportunity in desktop real estate to capture the attention of the underserved small and mid-sized business (SMB) market and provide commerce services. To succeed in this often elusive market, FIs will have to address the real needs of the SMBs – like cash management tools and financial services, and make them easy to access and use. The Small Business Association reports that over 50 percent of small businesses fail in the first year and 95 percent fail within the first five years and the main reason identified for failure (and conversely for success) is visibility to and management of cash flow.