Press information
27 March 2007
First Tennessee Bank Converts to LogicaCMG Payments Solution
Corporate customers can now initiate and approve wire transfers
and execute foreign currency trades online
BURLINGTON, Mass.— LogicaCMG announced today that First Tennessee Bank has completed its implementation of LogicaCMG’s payments solution. The new system brings improved security, controls, regulatory compliance capabilities, and a graphical user interface for the bank’s corporate customers. The system went live in December 2006 after an extended period of conversion and testing.
First Tennessee, a subsidiary of First Horizon Corp. (NYSE:FHN), is a $37 billion asset institution with the largest share of the retail and commercial banking market in the state of Tennessee.
“We are very excited about what we can now offer to customers,” said Marilyn Hazzle, who manages the wire transfer department at First Tennessee. “We will soon have a customer-facing module that enables our customers to shop for foreign exchange and get live quotes via the Internet. Under the old system, the client would call the bank, and then one of us would contact a trader who would call New York. We would then get back to the customer with a price quote. By that time, the market could have moved in an unfavorable direction. Our new system is much less labor-intensive and will be a real competitive advantage for us.”
Tighter compliance, faster reporting speed up customer payments while automation reduces personnel costs
Hazzle also lauded the system’s HOTSCAN module, which increases productivity and compliance with anti-money-laundering regulations through automating the scanning and checking of all funds transfers and messages. She said that the system’s customized reporting capabilities and timely notification of completed funds transfers give her staff increased control and reduced exposure to counterparty risk.
First Tennessee’s international operations department also interfaced its letter of credit and collections system to the HOTSCAN module. This allowed First Tennessee to reduce the technical staff that had been required to maintain multiple OFAC-type databases.
“The live exchange rate process also enabled international operations to eliminate a position that supported ‘manual’ trading efforts. This improvement went a long way to minimizing costs while giving us the ability to handle a potentially larger number of transactions,” said senior vice president Stephanie Russell.
Patty Wiley, assistant manager for international operations, added, “We’ve been able to greatly simplify our systems. We no longer have to call the wire room to see if a transaction has gone through. Instead, we automatically get a faxed advice and a copy of each wire that has been sent through the Federal Reserve.
“Our customers have been getting paid faster, too, because we are batching our wires every half hour. With the previous system, we were only able to do three batches a day,” she said.
Money-Center Payment and Transfer Technologies Coming for Middle-Market Institutions
The full slate of payments features and functions available to First Tennessee through LogicaCMG payments software includes:
product to initiate domestic and international wires, FX currency trades and international drafts. Users can also review online their account balances and the status of entered transactions.
branch payments, and callback approvals
LogicaCMG has a lengthy history of leadership in payments and financial messaging. Its clients include 40 of the world’s top 50 banks, and more than 150 global banks use the company’s systems to move funds. But banks of all sizes are trying to meet heightening customer demand for more efficient and secure payment mechanisms. They also must respond to increasing pressure from government regulators concerned with fraud and money laundering.
“We are seeing more and more regional and second-tier banks evaluating a technology migration to stay competitive and to comply with government regulations in the payments arena,” noted Karen Roche, president of LogicaCMG Financial Services in North America. “Our solutions and interfaces are fully scalable for banks of virtually any size and for any transaction volume. We are proud that First Tennessee, which has one of America’s best track records for customer service and retention, has chosen LogicaCMG for payments. We look forward to working with them for many years to come.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
About First Tennessee
First Tennessee has the largest business and consumer market share in Tennessee and one of the highest customer retention rates of any bank in the country. First Tennessee's parent company, First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN), has earned recognition as one of the nation's best employers from AARP, Fortune and Working Mother magazines. The corporation also has been named one of the nation's 100 best corporate citizens by CRO magazine. More information can be found at www.FirstTennessee.com.
About LogicaCMG
LogicaCMG is a major international force in IT and business services. It employs around 40,000 people across 41 countries. LogicaCMG’s focus is on enabling its customers to build and maintain leadership positions using LogicaCMG’s deep industry knowledge and its track record for successful delivery. The company provides business consulting, systems integration and IT and business process outsourcing across diverse markets including telecoms and media, financial services, energy and utilities, industry, distribution and transport and the public sector. Headquartered in Europe, LogicaCMG is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and Euronext (Amsterdam) (LSE:LOG; Euronext:LOG) and traded on the Xternal List of the Nordic Exchange in Stockholm. More information is available at www.logicacmg.com.
Press contacts:
Kim Cherry Tom Burke
First Horizon National Corp. Graber Associates for LogicaCMG
(901) 523-4726 617-323-5694