NASHUA, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 27, 2003--
Major New Releases of Applications for the Financial Services
Industry Optimize Active Risk Management and Compliance
Providus Software Solutions, Inc. today introduced new versions of
its two risk management applications, RiskResolve(TM) 3.0 for
Sarbanes-Oxley and RiskResolve(TM) 3.0 for Basel II regulatory
compliance. Developed exclusively for the financial services industry,
Providus's RiskResolve is the first risk management solution to
provide financial institutions with a single Active Risk Management
Console(TM) enabling an unprecedented top-down view of risk and
potential risk across lines of business - enterprise-wide.
The RiskResolve 3.0 applications satisfy the needs of both
auditors and top financial services industry executives, including
CEOs, CFOs, Boards of Directors and Audit Committees, for an immediate
risk management solution for multiple regulatory requirements with
respect to:
-- Visibility of risk and potential risk;
-- Accountability of business lines; and,
-- Efficacy of internal financial controls and processes.
"Demand is growing among financial institutions for practical
solutions that can support easy-to-use, efficient risk management
capable of crossing business process and organizational boundaries,"
said Deborah Williams, Group Vice President of Capital Markets and
Corporate Banking at IDC's Financial Insights. "Customers are looking
for vendors to demonstrate tangible, long-term business benefits - not
just documentation of compliance. That means financial services
executives need a single, managed view into all types of risk
aggregated and consolidated across the enterprise. Solutions that can
successfully meet these requirements will be well received not only in
the Board room, but also by C-level executives and line-of-business
users."
With RiskResolve, managers in bank business units and business
lines can attest to their completeness and compliance with established
internal financial control processes directly online in the system.
This coupling of compliance reporting with actions taken (which is not
connected in most competing solutions) makes compliance easier and
more auditable, helping managers to identify and eliminate gaps in
financial controls.
"We purchased RiskResolve as a solution to facilitating external
reporting under section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (certify
internal controls), but we are already enjoying benefits well beyond
this," said Lisa Sunderman, Manager of Operational Control Assessment
at Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities, Inc., Spokane, WA. "RiskResolve
is working as expected to consistently document risk exposure and
controls and recalls the information in formats customized for our
multiple audiences. The process assessment work we do assures managers
that we are looking at risk and controls in every part of the company.
RiskResolve sorts through the volumes of documentation and provides an
alarm system to alert us to areas where improvement efforts should be
focused. It has improved accountability by forcing us to identify
where risk is sourced and by tracking plans for corrective action."
"More than any other industry, financial services institutions
must comply with multiple regulations, and Sarbanes-Oxley has added
unprecedented requirements and consequences to their management of
risk," said Andrew T. Evans, President and CEO of Providus. "Only our
RiskResolve solution can support multiple, parallel compliance
objectives - even if they overlap. This ensures our customers that
their SEC filings and internal financial controls are based on timely,
accurate, and complete financial reporting. No other vendor offers as
comprehensive a risk management solution with as fast a
time-to-value."
Built on .NET Web services, the RiskResolve 3.0 applications
provide users with the necessary workflow and permission capabilities
for a role-specific interface - the Active Risk Management Console -
for entering, viewing, tracking, and reporting on risks and
risk-related data associated with each user's area of responsibility
in the financial institution. Through this advanced Web services
architecture, the RiskResolve 3.0 applications deliver the industry's
most comprehensive risk management solution with early warnings and
alerts; issue escalation; sophisticated, role-based permissions; and
rules-based policies. With built-in support for the regulatory
requirements of FDICIA as well as Sarbanes-Oxley and Basel II,
Providus's Active Risk Management Framework supports COSO best
practices for risk mitigation and management across both
organizational and procedural boundaries.
Pricing and Availability
RiskResolve 3.0 for Sarbanes-Oxley and RiskResolve 3.0 for Basel
II are available now from Providus. Pricing varies based on
configuration and number of users, ranging from $50,000 to $300,000
and up for large-scale enterprise-wide deployments.
About Providus Software Solutions, Inc.
Providus Software Solutions, Inc. is an innovative provider of
risk management and regulatory compliance software solutions, focused
exclusively on the financial services industry. Providus's RiskResolve
is the first risk management solution to provide financial
institutions with a top-down view of all types of business risk,
aggregated and consolidated across the enterprise. With built-in
support for regulatory requirements including Sarbanes-Oxley, Basel II
and FDICIA, Providus's Active Risk Management Framework is the first
technology to support the new COSO ERM Framework for risk mitigation
and management across both organizational and procedural boundaries.
More than 500 users at a dozen financial institutions rely on
RiskResolve solutions to meet their risk management needs, including
top executives, risk managers, compliance officers, audit managers and
line-of-business managers. Among Providus's customers are such leading
financial institutions as Metropolitan Mortgage, California Bank &
Trust, Western National Trust and Zions Bancorporation. Headquartered
in Nashua, NH, Providus is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zions
Bancorporation (NASDAQ: ZION), a $28 billion bank holding corporation
headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT. Providus is on the Web at
www.providus.com.
RiskResolve, Active Risk Management, Active Risk Management
Framework and Active Risk Management Console are trademarks of
Providus Software Solutions, Inc. All other named brands are
trademarks of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Providus Software Solutions
Rhian Gregory, 603-883-3907 x338
rhian.gregory@providus.com
or
Parker Communications
Michelle Allard McMahon, 978-929-9515
mmcmahon@parkercomms.com
SOURCE: Providus Software Solutions, Inc.