Press Releases

Asset Control and b-next to be strategic partners on MiFID

New York and London, February 6, 2006

Asset Control, a leading provider of Centralized Data Management (CDM) solutions to the financial industry, has partnered with leading German software developer and consultancy b-next to address the compliance and market conformity issues raised by MiFID.  Under the AC Alliance program, b-next will seamlessly integrate its MACOC suite of applications for regulatory compliance requirements with Asset Control’s flagship product AC Plus, to be delivered turnkey.  The joint solution will provide the banking community with a homogeneous response to MiFID’s best execution and conflict of interest requirements.  This relationship is in line with Asset Control’s corporate strategy to enhance its own proven solutions with partnerships to address upcoming industry initiatives.

Says Wolfgang Fabisch, managing director of b-next: “Our MACOC Suite of solutions is today’s leading platform for regulatory requirements in the financial industry. We have started very early to implement a dedicated module for MiFID and our link with Asset Control will produce a high performance, robust solution delivering optimum quality in terms of data and processes.“

Established in Herford, Germany in 1989, b-next has implemented its MACOC Suite in over 100 financial institutions in Europe.   In the same way that Asset Control offers a centralized solution to data management from different sources across the enterprise, b-next provides a single platform enabling the financial industry not only to comply efficiently with the various regulations, but also to benefit from the added value of turning regulatory obstacles into marketable advantages.

b-next is the newest strategic European partner in Asset Control’s AC Alliance Program, under which independent application software vendors linking their products to AC Plus agree to a defined joint solution delivery.  In return they receive training from Asset Control and the opportunity to market to a wider customer base following official certification.  Asset Control is proactive in supporting vendors under this program, which is a key element of its objective of delivering Operational Coherency to its customers. This vision goes beyond just cleansing data, enabling customers to integrate their data, networks and applications for maximum efficiency and stability at the lowest total cost
of ownership.

“We are focused on off-the-shelf interoperability for our customers with best-of-breed applications and turnkey solutions,” adds Bridget Piraino, Vice President of Marketing & Alliances at Asset Control.  “Feedback from our customers highlights the demand for a MiFID solution via the AC Alliance. We are confident in the professionalism and expertise demonstrated by b-next and are delighted to have them as a partner.  Compliance with MiFID is essential for any financial services company operating in Europe and this partnership will enable our customers to incorporate a strong solution well ahead of MiFID’s autumn 2007 live date.”

About Asset Control
Asset Control is the world’s leading provider of Centralized Data Management (CDM) to financial industry firms.  With a complete range of in-house and outsourced options, Asset Control delivers Total Data Management® (TDM), a hybrid approach to data management.  The selection of developer tools, turnkey software solutions and outsourced services enable users to optimize their investment data for efficiency, cost control, reduced operational risk and increased value from their data.

Derived from the robust and reliable AC Plus modular framework, the Asset Control product set includes data solutions addressing market risk, counterparty credit risk, security master, research and corporate actions, as well as global data networking and administration. Handling data from vendors and in-house systems, these solutions collect, validate, normalize, and consolidate data into cleansed composite “golden copy” sets for business use.

Customers include Abbey National, ABN AMRO, Barclays Capital, Barclays Global Investors, Bayerische Landesbank , BBVA, Commerzbank, IBM (Dresdner Bank), Grupo Santander, Harvard Management Company, HSH Nordbank, HypoVereinsbank, ING, LCH.Clearnet, Robeco Groep, Société Générale, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered and Union Investment, as well as a super-major global energy group. Established in 1991, Asset Control is a privately held firm with operations in London, New York and the Netherlands.  For more information please visit www.asset-control.com.

About b-next
b-next Engineering GmbH was formed in 1989 as Jostmeiersoft. Jostmeiersoft is now the holding company for b-next Engineering GmbH Herford/Frankfurt and b-next AG in Zürich.  Recognizing the need of the financial industry to meet vast regulatory requirements, b-next developed the MACOC Suite of applications. Its product spectrum encompasses expert IT advice, professional project management, skilled development of systems architectures, reliable integration into existing IT infra-structure and full servicing in the form of innovative and complete, future-safe solutions.  This integrated approach has built the base for b-next’s leadership position in the market.
For more information please visit  www.b-next.de.