UK banks should follow the example of their Spanish counterparts
and replace their ageing legacy banking systems to help boost
profits, according to a report published this week.
A report from analyst firm Datamonitor on the performance of core
banking systems across Europe found that UK banks were reluctant to
replace their ageing legacy systems with new software packages due
to the complexity and high-risk nature of the project.
By contrast, Spanish banks have generally chosen to replace their
legacy systems with new software packages and revamped their
business processes at the same time. This technology overhaul has
helped to boost the Spanish banks' profits and has also improved
levels of customer service, Datamonitor claimed.
"One of the key factors in the Spanish retail banking community
achieving this level of operational efficiency is the replacement
of legacy core systems with packaged core systems designed and
maintained by a third-party supplier," the report said.