European Banks

Delivered February 2nd, 2018. Contributors: Michael B., Freda H., Stephen M., Erica L., Patricia R., Harrison G., Shannon R., Estel M., Sara F., Michael D., Sian N., Megan L., Caitlin T., Varun N., Shweta T., ChristineD and

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UK Tier 3 - Core Banking System Vendors

Based on industry sources, we have positively identified the following: Shawbrook Bank uses Sopra Banking Software’s Mortgage and Savings Suite as its core banking system, British Arab Commercial Bank uses Temenos' T24 system, and Société Générale uses a custom-built cloud system based on Oracle RAC for a database and application servers provided by VCE. We believe it likely, but cannot completely prove, that Handelsbanken UK receives its core banking system from Evry and that British Business Bank also uses Temenos.

We have added this information and our sources to the project spreadsheet. Below you will find a deep dive of our findings. 

HANDELSBANKEN
Handelsbanken Norway signed on to Evry's java-based core banking system in January 2017. However, we are unable to confirm whether Handelsbanken UK was also party to the deal despite an extensive search of financial industry news and press releases by both Evry and Handelsbanken. Even Handelsbanken's own 2016 Annual Report does not disclose any of their vendors, including that of their core banking system. Nevertheless, we consider it likely, though not proven, that Handelsbanken UK uses the same core banking system.

SOCIETE GENERALE
In 2013, Société Générale "employed Belgium-based software house Anubex to aid in the preparation and testing of the applications as they were transitioned away from the mainframe to the cloud for access by a new system running Oracle RAC as the database, and Cobol application servers on a fully virtualized Linux platform provided by VCE." Completing the project took two years, so despite the lack of more recent confirmation, it is exceedingly likely that they are still using this cloud-based core banking system.

SHAWBROOK BANK
According to Banking Tech, "For its core platform, Shawbrook uses Sopra Banking Software’s Mortgage and Savings Suite (MSS). At the front-end, Sandstone Technology provides its digital banking and customer onboarding software to the bank." 

BRITISH ARAB COMMERCIAL BANK
British Arab Commercial Bank (BACB) transitioned from Misys' Midas core banking system to Temenos' T24 system in 2016. 

BRITISH BUSINESS BANK
After an extensive search, including of their own financial statements, we were unable to find a public source disclosing British Business Bank's core banking system vendor. However, a recently-posted job description for an Infrastructure Architect mentions a requirement to knowledge of Microsoft Azure, but no other third-party platforms. Microsoft Azure is used by core banking system vendor Temenos to host its SaaS services. It is therefore likely, but not certain, that British Business Bank is partnered with Temenos. 

CONCLUSION
The above information has been summarized in the project spreadsheet.

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Benelux Tier 2 - Core Banking System Vendors

All the requested information on the core banking systems for Triodos Bank, Achmea Bank, Delen Private Bank, Delta Lloyd Bank and Banque de Luxembourg S.A.B can be found on the Benelux Tier 2 tab in the attached spreadsheet. 
CORE BANKING VENDORS (BENELUX TIER 2)Triodos Bank – When searching for the core banking system vendors for Triodos, the only recent information found was on their online banking system which I listed in the spreadsheet. Triodos uses JavaScript instead of Flashplayer in efforts to improve the attractiveness and usability of their web content. 

Achmea Bank - Achmea Bank uses EuroPort+ for administration of savings products and payments.

Delen Private Bank -  After an exhaustive search of Delen Private Bank, there were no definitive findings related to their core banking system vendors, therefore, I entered N/A in the tab.

Delta Lloyd Bank - Delta Lloyd bank upgraded its core operating system T24 in 2016.

Banque de Luxembourg S.A.B -  In 2016, Banque de Luxembourg S.A.B. implemented  Avaloq Banking Suit as its new core banking system. The Avalong Banking Suit is "provided on a hosted basis by Avaloq, supporting EDR’s operations in Switzerland, Luxembourg and Monaco."

CONCLUSIONIn conclusion, all the requested information has been populated into the attached spreadsheet.

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Benelux Tier 3 - Core Banking System Vendors

Most of the information used in this analysis about the core banking system vendors was pre-compiled. Keytrade Benelux Tier 3 bank uses the iCapps core banking platform, Triodos Benelux Tier 3 bank uses the ABACUS/DaVinci, whereas Raiffeisen Benelux Tier 3 bank uses iNUI and Microsoft core banking systems.

The requested details have been incorporated into the attached spreadsheet.
Key Findings1. Keytrade Benelux Tier 3 bank uses the iCapps core banking platform. In 1998 Keytrade Bank was founded as the first online broker in Belgium. Today the online bank has just merged with Fortuneo, servicing 300,000 clients. 

2. Triodos Benelux Tier 3 bank uses the ABACUS/DaVinci as its core banking platform. "ABACUS/DaVinci, part of BearingPoint’s proven Abacus Solution Suite, is a market-leading, off-the-shelf strategic risk aggregation and regulatory reporting platform." "ABACUS/DaVinci covers the requirements of CRD IV / CRR I and EBA ITS on Reporting." 

3. Raiffeisen Benelux Tier 3 bank is mounted upon iNUI and Microsoft core banking systems. "Banque Raiffeisen is using the Perceptive Pixel-based Interactive Advisory Desk to transform its relationships with customers, and support a new, more modern and dynamic image."

Conclusion The attached spreadsheet contains all the necessary and requested information about these three Benelux Tier 3 banks.

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UK Tier 2 - Third Party Technology / Integration Partners

The requested information about the third party technology and integration partners of provided banks has been provided in columns I-J of the attached spreadsheet.  

The following Third Party Technology / Integration Partners were identified for the enlisted banks as follows:

1. Aldermore Group PLC uses DPR Consulting for their lending system and Swyx for their unified communications platform.

2. Islamic Bank of Britain Business Banking uses Annodata (partner of Al Rayan Bank), which covers Document Management, Unified Communications, and IT.

3. C. Hoare and Company uses SimCorp HiPortfolio and Dimension Systems for investment management.

4. Cambridge and Counties uses Niu Solutions for IT infrastructure and cloud services.

5. API developer platform TrueLayer integrated with Monzo Bank to "allow businesses that use TrueLayer to request access to account data held by Monzo, via an API."

6. Starling Bank uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) for hosting web services, databases, and cloud computing. TransferWise is used for foreign currency transfer.
conclusionThe requested information about the third party technology and integration partners of provided banks has been provided in columns I-J of the attached spreadsheet.

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UK Tier 3 - Third Party Technology / Integration Partners

The UK's top Tier 3 banks have the following third party technology and integration partners: HPD Software and MetricStream (Societe Generale); BankSearch (British Business Bank); StartWrite Consultants and Temenos (British Arab Commercial Bank); Jaywing and ClusterSeven (Shawbrook Bank); and Pulsen (Handelsbanken).

As requested, all third party tech and integration partners have been listed on the attached spreadsheet, rows I-J, columns 3-7 of the "UK Tier 3" tab.

FINDINGS

For each bank requested, I searched for IT and tech providers, focusing on those that assist with integration, implementation, and running and hosting of the bank's core system. 

Please note that, despite extensive search through the bank's publicly disclose documents as well as global and local consultancies' websites, UK-based consultancies that focused exclusively on the requested tasks could not be located for some of the banks. In those cases, please note that some partners listed below provide additional IT consultancy services, such as analytics, risk assessment and data mining.

Please note that some of these partnerships date back to 2014 and 2013.

SOCIETE GENERALE

1. HPD Software: as of March 2017, the bank and HPD Software renewed their two-decade partnership, during which the bank has deployed its solutions in three continents.

2. MetricStream: Societe Generale partnered with MetricStream in 2014 to upgrade their compliance risk assessment, particularly when it came to homogenizing differences among countries where the bank had operations.

MetricStream deployed a solution with several databases, providing comprehensive information on global compliance and consolidates all procedures and training for risk mitigation.

BRITISH BUSINESS BANK

1. BankSearch: the British Business Bank, which focuses on funding small business and startups around the UK, has a valued partner in BankSearch, which provides data analytics on startups and small businesses.

BRITISH ARAB COMMERCIAL BANK

1. StartWrite Consultants: StartWrite Consultants assisted the bank in launching its mobile communication services, reducing operating costs and improving relationships with its service provider.

2. Temenos: the British Arab Commercial Bank chose Temenos to revamp its legacy system in 2016, deploying Temenos' T24 core banking system along with its CorporateSuite solution for legacy IT replacement.

SHAWBROOK BANK

1. Jaywing: Shawbrook Bank appointed Jaywing to build a creidt risk model program for its credit management, using the consultancy's AI modeling product.

2. ClusterSeven: following with its risk assessment and management building trend, Shawbrook deployed Clusterseven's end-user computing management software platform in December 2017.

HANDELSBANKEN

1. Pulsen: When Handelsbanken chose to deploy NetIQ Identity Manager to combine and streamline its user account systems, it worked with local partner Pulsen and its 60 consultants.

CONCLUSION

To wrap up, the UK's top Tier 3 banks work with HPD Software and MetricStream (Societe Generale); BankSearch (British Business Bank); StartWrite Consultants and Temenos (British Arab Commercial Bank); Jaywing and ClusterSeven (Shawbrook Bank); and Pulsen (Handelsbanken) for their integration and tech needs.

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Benelux Tier 2 - Third Party Technology / Integration Partners

Please find the spreadsheet attached. 
Integration partners — Tier 2 banks (Benelux)Many of the banks on the list leverage a combination of in-house implementation teams and third party partners to support their core banking software. The following are some primary partners in use by Triodos, Achmea Bank, Delen Private Bank, Delta Lloyd Bank and Banque de Luxembourg S.A.B. 

These findings come from company press releases, corporate website information and official sources.

Please note: A few of these sources are from prior to 2016, as there is limited information available in some cases.

 BearingPoint: Triodos partners with BearingPoint for Regulatory-as-a-Service reporting software. 

 TIA: Used by Delta Lloyd Bank for enterprise business services.

 Genesys: Partnered with Achmea Bank for app automation and personalized IVR services. 

SAP: Used by Achmea Bank (Insurance Analyzer) and Delta Lloyd Bank (Thaler) 

 Virtual Affairs: Integration partner for Achmea Bank

 ICTRoom: Data center & security partner for Delen Private Bank

 Nutanix: Partnered with Delen Private Bank for Enterprise Cloud Platform 

 MuleSoft: Integration partner for Banque de Luxembourg. Responsible for Cap4Lab and MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform.

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Benelux Tier 3 - Third Party Technology / Integration Partners

FINDINGS
Triodos Bank is well known for their sustainable practices, and they decided to choose the company BearingPoint and their flagship product as their new RaaS solution. The Regulatory-as-a-Service solution is called ABACUS/DaVinci. 

Keytrade Bank recently launched a business-critical project and needed a partner. They choose the technology company iCapps because of their experience in the banking field and working with Keytrade to create the most useful project for them. 

Banque Raiffeisen created a digital tool with the help of iNUI Studio and Microsoft. The tool is called Surface Hub and works to integrate customers into the consulting process by using more interactive methods. 

The findings are compiled into the attached spreadsheet as requested.

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Non-internationally reknowned/Non Tier 1 banks that have upgraded their banking systems

Allied Irish Banks, OakNorth Bank, and Harrods Bank are non-Tier 1 regional banks based in the UK that have implemented core banking upgrades in the last two years.

Your requested information is also prepared for you in the UK Core Banking tab of the attached spreadsheet.

Below you will find a deep dive of my findings and methodology.
METHODOLOGYTo complete your request, I researched case studies of non-Tier 1, regional banks based in the UK that upgraded their core banking systems from 2016. I conducted a press search and researched industry sources, particularly Banking Tech. I also researched major providers' case studies such as Temenos. I checked these banks against lists of Tier 1 UK banks, the most recent and comprehensive of which is from City A.M. (45 Tier 1 UK banks). Please continue below to see the results of my research.
ALLIED IRISH BANKS Banking Tech reported that Allied Irish Banks upgraded its banking payments software in April 2016. The new banking payments hub was set to support high-value, low volume payments as well as vice versa. The vendor chosen for the upgrade was Dovetail, whose solution replaced the Global PayPlus (GPP) legacy platform. 
OAKNORTH BANKIn May 2016, OakNorth Bank announced that it is upgrading its core banking system in the cloud to scale its business. 

 Financial Times named OakNorth's partner vendor as Amazon. Banking Tech reported that the bank's previous vendor was Mambu. It also mentioned that OakNorth was in talks first with Backbase, but the deal fell through. 

Oaknorth's upgrade came only 8 months after its launch. 
HARRODS BANKHarrods Bank announced its implementation of a new core banking system in March 2017. Banking Tech reported that Temenos was the vendor while Sofgen was chosen as the implementation partners. The upgrade came after Harrods Bank abandoned the FIS Profile project, originally meant to replace its old bank system. 
TEMENOS PREDICTIONIn a ComputerWorld UK article published in April 2017,  Temenos chief architect John Schlesinger predicted that most of the new core banking initiatives will be in the cloud by 2020. He also noted that Tier 2 banks are renting platform as a service, besting bigger Tier 1 banks which are hampered by complicated legacy infrastructure. 

Schlesinger said, "I see Tier 2 banks renting platform as a service, and actually we are seeing that already in some of the RFPs we are getting. For all other banks, that's the Tier 3, 4 and 5, they will be buying software as a service, running very, very low entry costs."
CONCLUSIONTo wrap it up, the following are non-Tier 1 regional banks based in the UK that have implemented core banking upgrades in the last two years: Allied Irish Banks, OakNorth Bank, and Harrods Bank.

Your requested information is also prepared for you in the UK Core Banking tab of the attached spreadsheet.

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Benelux Tier 2 and 3 - Upgraded Banking Systems

Among the Tier 2 and Tier 3 banks in the Benelux region, Argenta Spaarbank, Nordea, Advanzia, De Voksbank, and BGL BNP Paribas have replaced or upgraded their core banking systems in the last 24 months. Vendors used for these conversions included Five Degrees, Boondoggle, Schuberg Philis, Temenos, Ohpen, and ERI. Below, please find an overview of our findings with requested details added to the Benelux Core Banking tab of the attached spreadsheet. 

OVERVIEW
I consulted our previous responses regarding Tier 2 and Tier 3 banks in the Benelux region, searching for evidence of upgrades in their core banking systems. I then expanded my search to other Benelux banks that appear to fall into the tiers identified. Finding consistent definitions of the bank tiers, globally, proved challenging. Gartner suggests that Tier 1 banks comprise the top 20-25 global banks, so I ensured that none of these top banks were among my offerings. However, ING, the largest Benelux bank to land on the list of the largest global banks is listed at #29, so it is likely that all Benelux banks fall into the Tier 2 and 3 categories.

Since the tier categories are not clearly defined, I relied on mentions of tier 2 status in news and industry sources. I've also consulted a list of top Netherlands banks, as some of these banks were identified as Tier 2 or 3 in our previous responses related to the Benelux region, as well as this list of Luxembourg banks.

According to a document produced by Ghent University, Belgian banks that fall into the Tier 2 category include "AXA Bank Europe, Argenta, Crelan and Record bank." So I researched all of these banks.

However, if I could not confirm the bank's status as a Tier 2 or 3 bank, but found that it is in the Benelux region, I included it in my findings, as this region appears to be largely considered a Tier 2 region, according to Colliers International.

FINDINGS
 Argenta Spaarbank adopted a new core banking system in 2016. The new system was implemented with the help of Five Degrees, Boondoggle and Schuberg Philis. 

 Nordea Bank Luxembourg upgraded its core banking system in 2016, moving to Temenos WealthSuite. It formerly had a system from Misys and Tieto.

Luxembourg-based Advanzia selected Temenos T24 to replace its core banking system in January 2016.

 De Volksbank NV migrated to Ohpen's core banking system in November 2017.

Luxembourg-based BGL BNP Paribas went live with a new Olympic core banking system from ERI in September 2016.

A 2016 article suggests that ABN AMRO Bank NV was in the process of converting their current Olympic core banking system to Temenos T24, but that process appears to have begun in 2015. However, I could not confirm the completion date.

In December 2017, Banque Internationale a Luxembourg announced plans to replace their core banking system, though details regarding the vendor they will use were not available. 

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Argenta Spaarbank, Nordea, Advanzia, De Voksbank, and BGL BNP Paribas are Tier 2 and Tier 3 banks in the Benelux region that have replaced or upgraded their core banking systems in the last 24 months. They have used several vendors, including Five Degrees, Boondoggle, Schuberg Philis, Temenos, Ohpen, and ERI. The requested details have been added to the Benelux Core Banking tab of the attached spreadsheet.

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Core Banking System Pain

The major pain points for Tier 2 and Tier 3 banks when it comes to updating their core banking systems are high operating costs, high operational risk, poor customer experience, reduced speed to market, poor analytics, and regulatory burden. While all banks face challenges when updating their core banking system, Tier 2 and Tier 3 banks face additional difficulties because they have less available capital compared to larger institutions to undertake such projects. 
High operational costsLeaders of banks across Europe have expressed concern about the high operating costs of existing core banking systems. Banks spend more of their revenue on information technology than most other industries, an average of 11.15%. Of this amount, only an average of 30.16% is spent on innovation and growth. The rest of that budget is spent on maintaining existing systems. Major contributing factors to this high cost are manual interventions in multiple processes, greater integration efforts, and the complexity of existing systems. Additionally, the peak resource use of the batch process results in higher infrastructure costs than with real time systems that can smooth out usage and enhance efficiency.
High Operational riskThere are high operational risks involved in running any old system and core banking systems, many of which are over 30 years old, are no exception. The age of these systems alone adds to their complexity and contributes significantly to decreased maintainability. This problem is compounded by the departure from the workforce of people trained to maintain the systems.  These legacy systems also tend to be complex, involving multiple platforms that often are unable to integrate auxiliary functions. 

In addition to increasing costs, the need for manual hand-offs and re-entering information across different systems dramatically increases the risk of human-induced errors. There have been a number of high-profile errors in recent years that have damaged institutional credibility, most notably in 2012 when "a glitch in the legacy batch process scheduler at RBS resulted in 12 million customers being denied access to their accounts for more than a week." As evidenced by this issue, batch processing also poses operation risks because it allows errors to rapidly compound and makes fixing them in a timely manner more difficult.
Poor customer experienceLegacy systems, even when hidden behind a modern, digital front end can leave customers frustrated. With the rise of mobile and online banking, more customers are expecting real-time banking to match the pace of their other services. However, outdated core banking systems, especially those dependent on batch processing, significantly reduce the speed at which services can be offered. Additionally, many systems still rely on manual processes for some services (like mortgage applications) and the switch between digital and analog frustrates customers used to seamless digital integration. This frustration is compounded when systems are unable to provide real-time updates on the progress of their applications or transactions. 
Reduced speed to marketA survey of senior banking executives in Europe conducted by Ovum showed that 80% said outdated core banking systems were making it more difficult to bring new products to market. The complexity of legacy systems means it often takes months of coding and testing to release a new product or modify an existing service. Finding the people with the skills to make these changes is also becoming an increasing challenge.

Legacy update releases tend to occur infrequently, often quarterly or half-yearly, which makes it challenging to respond to rapidly to a changing business environment. In contrast, modern core system providers offer monthly releases of upgrades, allowing newer systems to be more responsive. This deficiency is particularly pronounced when compared to financial technology companies that can offer more adaptive products with improved functionality. 
Poor analyticsModern business success is built upon powerful analytics, using data from core systems to understand customer behavior, make business decisions, and provide regulators with the appropriate data. Since they were created before the rise of big data, it is often too difficult and costly to extract data from legacy systems. As a result, many Tier 2 and Tier 3 banks have a wealth of information on their customers and transactions that they have no way to exploit. This means lost business opportunities and reduced revenue. Data duplication is also an issue with legacy systems, as each sub-system produces its own information but cannot communicate with other sub-systems.
Regulatory burdenThe same Ovum survey noted that 75% of European bank leaders that their existing core banking systems were not capable of supporting regulatory change. As compliance rules change across the continent, legacy systems make it increasingly difficult to keep pace. The overall burden of regulation is driving banks to decrease costs, increase capital, and better manage risk. All of these are hindered by outdated core banking systems. 
ConclusionThe main pain points for Tier 2 and Tier 3 banks working with outdated or legacy core banking systems are high operating costs, high operational risk, poor customer experience, reduced speed to market, poor analytics, and regulatory burden. While all banks face challenges when updating their core banking system, a lack of capital when compared to larger institutions makes it more difficult for Tier 2 and Tier 3 banks to undertake such projects. 

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Core Banking System Selection Criteria

The younger, more tech-savvy generation of managers for European Tier-2 and Tier-3 banks are increasingly frustrated by legacy core banking systems. Instead, they want core systems to integrate both back-end and ancillary functions, systems architecture which enables use of third-party modules, the option of using the cloud for at least some functions, and a system compatible with the upcoming Revised Payments Services Directive (PSD2)--all at an affordable price, of course.

Below you will find a deep dive of our findings.

INTEGRATION OF BACK-END AND ANCILLARY FUNCTIONS
With European banks facing increasing competition and regulation and changing customer behavior, many banks are being forced to consider replacement of their core systems. Today's bank management teams are younger and less technophobic than previous generations, and are demanding more innovation than many of the core system vendors seem willing to provide. Community banks in particular "believe that their ability to compete is compromised by lagging technology," according to Steve Powless, CEO of core provider CSI.

Today's bankers "are clamoring for ... real-time posting of transactions, cloud-hosted solutions, and open architectures that allow bankers to more easily use best-of-breed solutions from other third-party providers." For example, Conor McAleavey, Head of Innovation at Leveris, boasts that their "systems are highly flexible, can be easily integrated with other systems and in comparison to the legacy providers are ultra low cost." In fact, he claims, "A key goal of ours is to democratize the banking industry by making the capabilities of these platforms available at low cost and in an easily configurable and extensible fashion."

It certainly doesn't hurt that the systems that provide these features "also offer attractive pricing schemes that are often less expensive." This is particularly important to lower-tier banks, which often find that the costs associated with older, inflexible core system vendors make them uneconomic and even inaccessible. 

In addition to "a back-end system that processes daily banking transactions and posts updates to accounts and other financial records," which enable the bank's "most common transactions like opening accounts, debit card withdrawals or payment processing," modern core providers now also offer the ancillary systems that "swirl around the core banking systems," like online and mobile banking and bill pay.

CLOUD COMPUTING
In a recent roundtable discussion in London hosted by Finextra, "The vendors around the table reported that all new RFPs," that is, requests for proposals, "require the option of cloud (whether for immediate use or not). Small and new banks go to the cloud for 99% plus of their activities from the outset." They argued that banks--and smaller and startup banks in particular--will increasingly take advantage of the low cost, extra automation, improved security and speed of deployment of the cloud. Tier-2 banks will leverage platform as a service (PaaS) while Tier-3 banks will "benefit from advances in process models" which accelerate deployment, leveraging software as a service (SaaS). 

"However," warns Ovum, a business intelligence firm, "although most software vendors have a cloud-related plan, this is in many cases not a very well-defined roadmap, reflecting the fact that the cloud market is still nascent." 

EFFECTS OF PSD2
The Revised Payments Services Directive (PSD2) is expected to come into force in late 2018. It "prescribes the opening of account information to third parties, such as aggregators of customer
financial information across multiple institutions, or payment providers," thereby increasing competition and innovation in Europe. European banks are expected to adapt to the directive by creating "new business models aimed at creating new and deeper relationships with customers and at generating new revenue streams." As a result, many Tier-2 (as well as Tier-1) banks have expressed the desire to become financial services portals, with 65% intending to "create their own app store with PSD2’s access requirements as the launching pad." 

In response, Temenos (for example) has designed its own core banking solution to accommodate the changing ecosystem, offering three frameworks that link "user experience, record keeping (core banking and payments) and analytics/reporting." Temenos' solution is targeted at Tier-1 and 2 banks, with newer companies like Leveris offering similar choices to smaller banks. 

CONCLUSION
The new generation of banking managers embraces innovation and is deeply frustrated by the constraints imposed by the old guard of core banking systems. Instead, they want better integration of back-end and ancillary functions, a flexible system architecture, and the option of using the cloud, enabling them to compete in the new ecosystem that is being created by the Revised Payments Services Directive (PSD2).

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Banking Competitive Landscape

A banking competitive landscape has been provided in the attached spreadsheet with a specific focus on Backbase, Mambu, Fidor, Ohpen and Salesforce.com's deals with Tier 1 to 4 banks within the past two years. A summary of our findings has been provided below along with links to statements of each deal that provide the date and evidence of the bank's Tier status.

SUMMARYBackbase
Backbase was founded in 2003 and is a software solutions company that operates within the large enterprise and financial sectors. They develop and provide portal software solutions, along with mentoring, training and implementation and support services. The company's most notable products include Bank 2.0, software that allows financial institutions to provide online banking services for multiple devices and incorporates a customer experience platform, and Backbase Portal 5.4, which focuses on the management and optimization of online platforms.

Deals: 4
1. IDFC Bank / India (2016)
2. Valiant Bank / Switzerland (2017)
3. Metro Bank / United Kingdom (2016)
4. Bank ABC / Bahrain (2017)

Mambu
Founded in Germany in 2009, Mambu provides a software as a service (SaaS) banking platform designed for the management of deposit and credit products. They provide services for retail banks, fintech startups, credit cooperatives, online lenders and microfinance institutions. Services offered include portfolio management and monitoring, product configurations, simplified credit risk assessments, document management services and the improvement of data quality, as well as tracking staff performance and streamlining workflow. 

Deals: 2
1. N26 / Germany (2017)
2. OakNorth / United Kingdom (2016)

Fidor
Founded in 2009 in Munich, Germany, Fidor Bank provides Internet-based financial services to both businesses and private customers. The company's products and services include loans, credit and checking accounts, prepaid phone credits, foreign currencies, precious metals, social trading, crowd finance and insurance and payment services.   

Deals: 1
1. Group BPCE / France (2016)

Ohpen
Ohpen was founded in 2009 in the Netherlands and provides cloud-based core banking software targeted to financial service providers responsible for savings accounts and retail investments. Clients serviced include insurance companies, online savings banks, pension providers, retail banks and asset managers. Products and services offered include a core banking engine, elevator pitch and a front-end suite, with the guarantee of innovation and quality along with continuous compliance.

Deals: 1
1. SNS Bank / Netherlands (2016)

Salseforce.com
US-based cloud computing solutions company Salesforce.com, services enterprises with a specific focus on the management of customer relations. Products offered include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Internet of Things Cloud, Analytics Cloud and Salesforce Quip. Furthermore, the company provides professional cloud services, including training, consulting, deployment and integration assistance for implementation of its products. Salesforce.com headquarters is located in San Fransisco, California and was founded in 1999.

Deals: 2
1. PNC Bank / United States (2016)
2. Citigroup / United States (2016)

CONCLUSIONIn closing, we have provided details of deals made between Tier 1 to 4 banks and the companies BackBase, Mambu, Fidor, Ohpen and Salesforce.com in the attached spreadsheet.

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Satellite / Challenger Banks - Europe

Looking at Europe, there are  39 satellite and challenger banks throughout Europe that have been included in this research. The attached spreadsheet provides full requested details (name, website, country, type, and sources), however below is a list of the banks and their associated countries. 
EUROPEAN SATELLITE AND CHALLENGER BANKSUNITED KINGDOM
Fidor Bank
Tide
Zopa (satellite, run by challenger)
Atom
Monzo
ASDA Money
Tandem
Revolut
Starling
Civilised Bank
Ffrees
ImaginBank
Lintel
Loot
Monese
Pockit
Soldo
U Account
Metro Bank
Secco
Curve
Virgin (satellite, run by challenger Virgin)
Sainsbury's Bank
Osper

NETHERLANDS
KNAB

FINLAND
Kolvi
N 26

POLAND
Idea Bank

ITALY
Soldo
CheBanca
Buddy Bank

DENMARK
Hufsy
Lunar Way

SWEDEN
Qapital

NORWAY
InstaBank

FRANCE
Hello Bank 
Compte Nickel

GERMANY
Kontist
Penta

BELGIUM
Hello Bank
N 26

IRELAND
ASDA Money (satellite, run by challenger ASDA)
N 26
SUMMARYWhile the majority of the banks are challenger banks, a few of them (as noted above) are satellite banks, in most instances, run by a challenger (this is noted in the spreadsheet). 

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UK Tier 3

In the UK, the top five tier 3 banks with fewer than 500,000 customers are Societe Generale, British Business Bank, British Arab Commercial Bank, Shawbrook Bank, and Handelsbanken. This ranking is based on the total assets of each bank, which range from 1.5 billion to 26 billion euros. 

Despite extensive searching, I couldn't find a clear consensus from industry experts on exactly how bank tiers are measured in the UK based on any hard quantitative metric. Instead, I used a qualitative judgement based on this source, which explains that there are only about 225 tier-1 and tier-2 banks globally. Based on this, I knew that only the very largest banks in the UK would fit in those categories. Moreover, that source defines tier-3 as "smaller national and regional banks", so I took this into consideration when selecting banks for this project. Beyond that, I focused primarily on the size criteria that you provided: that each bank should have less than 500,000 customers. 

You'll find all the details on these banks in the spreadsheet, and below you'll see some highlights from my research, as well as explanations of any calculations or assumptions. 

findingsHandelsbanken: This Swedish bank has €298 billion in total assets globally. In my research, I found that 9% of the bank's profits come from the UK, so I made the assumption that roughly 9% of the bank's total assets would be from the UK, as well. This is €26 billion. 

I couldn't find a solid figure for the bank's number of customers in the UK, but I was also able to estimate this figure. This data shows that, on average, banks have 170 customers per employee (this data is from France, but I'm assuming it will be roughly the same for the UK). Handelsbanken has roughly 2,000 employees in the UK; 2,000 times 170 is 340,000, so we can guesstimate that the bank has roughly that many customers. 

Societe Generale: For this bank, I couldn't find a definite figure on their number of customers in the UK, so I again performed a triangulation. The company has 145,000 employees globally, 2,000 of which are in the UK, which is 1.3% of the total. The bank has 30 million clients globally, and if we assume the percentage of clients from the UK will be roughly the same as the percentage of employees, we can make an estimate: 1.3% of 30 million = 413,000. 

Similarly, the bank has roughly €1.4 trillion in total assets globally. For the UK, 1.3% of that is roughly €18.2 billion. 

Shawbrook Bank: This bank has 569 employees; based on the same logic and sources above, we can estimate that it has approximately 96,000 customers (569 employees x 170 customers per employee). 

British Arab Commercial Bank: This bank has 181 employees; based on the same logic and sources above, we can estimate that it has approximately 30,000 customers (181 employees x 170 customers per employee).

British Business Bank: This bank has 144 employees; based on the same logic and sources above, we can estimate that it has approximately 25,000 customers (144 employees x 170 customers per employee).

conclusionTo wrap up, the the top five tier-3 banks with fewer than 500,000 customers, based on their total assets, are Societe Generale, British Business Bank, British Arab Commercial Bank, Shawbrook Bank, and Handelsbanken.

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BENELUX Tier 2

The banks we have identified as per the stated criteria are Triodos Bank, Achmea Bank, Delen Private Bank, Delta Lloyd Bank NV, Banque de Luxembourg. The number of customers for Tier-2 banks with less than 500,000 customers is not available in most cases. Most of these banks or their parent companies are yet to report or publish their annual reports for 2017. We have triangulated all the figures. Please find details of the same below:

FINDINGSOur research findings indicate that some top Tier-2 banks in Benelux like AXA Bank Europe, Argenta Spaarbank have more than double the number of customers than the defined criteria (less than 500,000 customers).  Some other Tier-2 banks like Crelan have even greater assets than the two banks mentioned above. However, we have only considered Tier-2 companies with a customer base of less than 500,000 customers in our research. 

Most Tier-2 banks in Benelux have not disclosed the number of clients they serve. Therefore, we have determined the range of total asset value for the top Tier-2 banks in Benelux (with less than 500,000 customers), and triangulated the number of customers these banks are likely to serve.

It is likely that a bank with lesser assets has fewer customers. However, this is subject to the type of customer the bank serves. For example, a bank that only caters to corporate could have fewer customers and much greater assets than one that serves only retail clients. But as majority Tier-2 banks in Benelux serve both corporate and retail clients, and since a couple of banks we have listed serve only high-net-worth individuals (somewhere in the middle of retail and corporate), we have assumed that the number of customers will be proportional to the value of total assets. 

CALCULATIONS TO DETERMINE RANGEArgenta spaarbankArgenta provides retail financial services in Netherlands and Belgium, through Argenta Spaarbank and Argenta Assuranties. 

The two divisions collectively have 1.7 million customers. 

Total assets of Argenta Spaarbank = 36.7 billion EUR

Total assets of Argenta Assuranties = 6.7 billion EUR

Therefore, percentage of total assets of Argenta Group that is contributed by Argenta Spaarbank = 36.7 *100/(36.7+6.7) =84.56%

We assume that the division of the customer base will be in the same proportion as the division of total assets.

Therefore, number of customers with Argenta Spaarbank = 84.56%* 1.7 million = 1,437,520

This number is much higher than 500,000.

AXA Bank EuropeAXA Bank Europe primarily operates in Belgium. It has 1,000,000 customers and total assets of 28 billion EUR as of end of 2016.

TRIODOS BANKTriodos Bank had total assets of 13,454 million EUR and 652,000 customers at the end of 2016. We know that 60.86% of the total assets and the total number of customers can be attributed to Netherlands and Belgium. 

The calculations and assumptions that helped us arrive at 60.86% have been explained in the Tridios Bank section under Top Tier-2 banks in Benelux.

The total number of customers of Triodos Bank from Benelux at the end of 2016 = 60.86% * 652,000 = 396,807 customers

Total assets under management that can be attributed to Benelux region = 60.86% * 13,454 million EUR = 8,188 million EUR

RANGEWe will now use the above data to determine a total asset value range in which top Tier-2 banks (by asset value) with less than 500,000 customers are likely to fall. 

We will begin with the assumption that the top Tier-2 banks in Benelux region will have over 300,000 customers. 

Next, we need to determine the upper and lower limit of total asset value for the range. We will use Triodos to define the lower limit of the range; Argenta Spaarbank and AXA Bank Europe will be used to define the upper limit of the range.

The range of the total asset value for top Tier-2 banks in Benelux with less than 500 customers is 6.19 billion EUR to 14 billion EUR. 

The calculations for the same have been shown in the attached spreadsheet.  In this same spreadsheet you will also find calculations for average asset value per customer, which we will use to estimate the number of customers for a bank. 

We observe that the average asset value per bank for the larger banks is higher, but at the same time the asset value is not always proportional to the average asset value per customer. It is not possible to ascertain a correlation from such a small sample. So we will broadly assume that the average asset value per customer for a larger bank will be more.

Therefore, we will simply use the average asset value for Triodos Bank (20,635 EUR) to calculate the number of customers for banks in the lower half of the range; for the upper half of the range we will use the average of average value of asset value per customer for Argenta Spaarbank and Axa Bank Europe (25,442 EUR). 

TOP TIER-2 BANKS IN BENELUXWe have picked the following Tier-2 banks with less than 500,000 customers from the list of top banks in Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. We have identified top ranked banks from the above country wise list on the basis of the total asset value within our defined range.
TRIODOS BANK
Triodos Bank is present in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Germany and UK.

Total banking activities of Triodos Bank = 9,261,874 

Banking activities in the Netherlands = 3,741,424 

Banking activities in Belgium = 1,895,244 

Percentage of Banking activities in Netherlands & Belgium = (3,741,424 +1,895,244)*100/ 9,261,874 = 60.86%

Total number of customers of Triodos Bank in 2016 = 652,000 

According to the bank’s guidance the number of customers was projected to grow by 5% to 10% in 2017. We will assume the mid-range value of 7.5% for our calculations. 

Total number of customers of Triodos Bank = 652,000 * (110+7.5)% = 700,900

We assume that the number of banking activities and the number of customers have a linear relationship and the percentage of customers of Triodos Bank who belong to the Benelux region remain the same in 2017.

Therefore, the number of customers in Netherlands and Belgium = 60.86% * 700,900 = 426,568 customers

We assume that the percentage of total Assets Under Management (AUM) attributed to Netherlands and Belgium will also be 60.86%; assuming a linear relationship between AUM and the number of customers across regions. Please note that the total assets for Triodos is the same as the assets under management.
 
Total AUM in 2016 = 13,454 billion EUR

AUM for Netherlands and Belgium = 60.86% * 13,454 = 8,188 billion EUR

The balance sheet total is projected to grow by 10% to 15%. We will consider the middle value (12.5%) of the range for calculating the AUM in 2017.

Therefore, AUM in 2017 = (100 + 12.5) % * 8,188 billion EUR = 9,212 million EUR 

ACHMEA BANKAchmea Bank provides mortgage loans and savings only to private customers in the Netherlands. 

Total asset value of Achmea Bank in 2015 = 16,071,736,000 EUR

Total asset value of Achmea Bank in 2016 =14,985,230,000 EUR

Total asset value of Achmea Bank at the end of H1 2017 = 14,226,501,000 EUR

We observe a trend of degrowth in total asset value between 2015 to H1 2017. We will assume that the asset value reduction in H2 2017 was the same as the asset value reduction in H1 2017.

Therefore, asset value at the end of H2 2017 = 14,226,501,000- (14,985,230,000 – 14,226,501,000) = 13,467,772,000 EUR

Since this bank is at the upper end of the range, we assume that it will have higher average asset value per customer.   

Therefore, Total number of customers of the bank = 13,467,772,000 EUR / 25,442 = 529,352 customers

Please note that this value has been estimated as the bank has not disclosed the number of customers it has on its website or annual report. 

Also, we have included this because it is very close to the defined criteria of 500,000 customers. The actual number of customers at Achmea Bank may be lesser as this is a private bank that caters to high-net-worth individuals. 

DELEN PRIVATE BANKDelen Private Bank had total assets of 7,842,836,020 EUR (9,778 million USD) in 2016. It is into wealth management and operates in Belgium and Luxembourg.

This company is now a subsidiary of a larger company, Ackermans &Van Haaren; we cannot derive the exact revenue contribution of Delen Private Bank to Ackermans & Van Haaren from the balance sheet.

Therefore, we will estimate the asset value in 2017 by assuming that it will grow at the same rate as Triodos Bank (7.5%).

Total assets of Delen Private Bank in 2017 = 7,842,836,020 * (100+7.5)/100 = 8,431,048,722 EUR

Total number of customers can be estimated by assuming an average asset value per customer of 20,635 EUR, as this is in the lower half of the range.

Therefore, total number of customers = 8,431,048,722 / 20,635 = 408,580

DELTA LLOYD BANK NVThe company is into pensions, insurance, asset management and banking for SMEs and retail customers in Netherlands.

Total Assets at the end of 2015 = 5,611,626,000 EUR

Total Assets at the end of 2016 = 5,490,752,000 EUR

There isn't a significant change in the value of total assets year-on-year. Hence, we will assume that the total assets in 2017 is the same as that in 2016. This is equal to 5,490,752,000 EUR

We will calculate the number of customers by assuming the average asset value per customer is 20,635 EUR as the asset value is closer to the bottom of our range.

Please note that we have added this even though it is below our determined range because it has been listed as one of the top banks, and there are only a few Tier-2 banks in Benelux that have customer bases smaller than 500,000 customers.

Total number of customers = 5,490,752,000/ 20,635 = 266,089 customers

Banque de Luxembourg Banque de Luxembourg is a wealth management company based in Luxembourg.

Total assets of the company in 2015 = 12,923,559,000 EUR

Total assets of the company in 2016 = 13,414,822,000 EUR

Therefore, growth rate in the year 2016 = (13,414,822,000 – 12,923,559,000)* 100 / 12,923,559,000 = 3.8 %

Assuming the same growth rate for the year 2017 the total assets of the company in 2017 = (100+3.8)%* 13,414,822,000 = 13,924,585,236 EUR

As this is in the top half of the range we will assume average asset value 
per user as 25,442 EUR.

Therefore, the total number of customers = 13,924,585,236/ 25,442 = 547,307 customers

As this is a wealth management company, it is likely that the average number of customers is lesser than the value arrived at.

CONCLUSIONThere are few Tier-2 banks have less than 500,00 customers. The banks we have listed are Triodos Bank, Achmea Bank, Delen Private Bank, Delta Lloyd Bank NV, Banque de Luxembourg. All required details pertaining to these banks have been entered in the attached spreadsheet.

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Benelux Tier 3

While there is no preexisting information to fully answer your question, we've used the available data to pull together key findings: Three of the top Tier 3 banks in the Benelux region are Triodos in the Netherlands, Keytrade in Belgium, and Banque Raiffeisen in Luxembourg. The Benelux banking sector comprises 281 banks, but most of these banks do not release their customer numbers. Those that provide this information typically have over 500,000 customers. The available data has been compiled in the Benelux Tier 3 tab of the attached spreadsheet.

Below you'll find an outline of our research methodology to better understand why information you've requested is publicly unavailable, as well as a deep dive into our findings. 

OVERVIEW / METHODOLGYAs I will explain in more detail throughout my response, my first step in researching this topic was to define some parameters for Tier 3 banks. A document produced by Universiteit Gent offered a figure that gave me a starting point related to total assets. I then had to determine the total assets for the banking sector in the Benelux region. Finding no preexisting data on the overall region, I set about finding the total assets for the individual countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. I then triangulated the upper limit for total assets of banks that fall into the Tier 3 category. 

Once I had this information, I began searching for data on the banks in the Benelux region. Again, finding little in the way of data for the overall region, I turned to information regarding the banking sector of each country, ultimately determining that the Benelux region has 281 banks. I then looked for lists of banks in each country to begin my search for data regarding the number of customers each bank serves. After an exhaustive search, I have confirmed that very few banks offer this piece of information and most of those that supply the data have greater than 500,000 customers. For this reason, I ultimately found three banks for which I could confirm their qualifications to be included in our list. 

BENELUX BANKING SECTOR FIGURESBELGIUM
Total 2016 assets for the Belgium banking market, which comprises 90 banks, were €1.022 billion. 

THE NETHERLANDS
The Netherlands banking market is very consolidated with the five largest banks holding 85% of the market, which comprises 50 banks. Dutch bank assets totaled €2.358 trillion. 

LUXEMBOURG
The Luxembourg banking sector comprises 141 banks with €770.1 billion in assets. 

DEFINING TIER 3 BANKSA document produced by Universiteit Gent states that a bank that holds 1.5% of the total assets of a market is considered a Tier 3 or smaller bank. Because the Netherlands banking sector is so much larger than the other two markets, determining the parameters to identify Tier 3 banks for all of Benelux may skew the results. Therefore, we will evaluate the countries individually. 

To determine which banks fall into the Tier 3 category, we can apply 1.5% to the total assets for each country to get the following asset upper limits:

• Netherlands: €35.37 billion (€2.358 trillion x .015)
• Belgium: €15.33 million (€1.022 billion x .015)
• Luxembourg: €11.55 billion (€770.1 billion x .015)

Based on the data compiled for each country, the Benelux region comprises 281 banks (90+50+141). Therefore, the sheer number of banks that must be reviewed to assess which banks meet the requested criteria of having fewer than 500,000 customers and the required asset limit takes the request outside the scope of a typical Wonder request. 

To begin the process, I found lists of the top banks in each region (here, here, and here), assuming I could eliminate those banks immediately, as they likely fall well outside the criteria. That leaves 251 banks to analyze. I then found additional lists of banks operating in each country and began analyzing the corporate documentation and financial reports of each bank in search of their customer count. As noted before, the vast majority of banks did not provide this information, and ultimately, I identified three banks that meet the requested criteria.

THE BANKSTHE NETHERLANDS
Banks Around the World provides a list of the top 29 banks in the Netherlands, 23 of which fall within the Tier 3 asset criteria we have established. So, I started with the largest of these 23 banks and began working my way through the list in search of corporate documents for customer count data. If I could not determine this figure, I moved on to the next bank to expedite the research process and find as much relevant data as possible.

• Triodos
According to their 2016 annual report, Triodos has 458,347 customer accounts with 384,651 in the Netherlands and 73,696 in Belgium. With total assets of approximately €3.7 billion in the Netherlands and €1.9 billion in Belgium (€5.6 billion total for Benelux), Triodos falls within the requested criteria. 

BELGIUM
Again, I started with a list of banks operating in Belgium and set about searching for the customer count data.

• Keytrade
Keytrade, a Belgium-based bank, states that it has over 200,000 customers with total assets of €3.029 million.

LUXEMBOURG
Likewise, for Luxembourg, I located a list of banks and searched company documents for customer count data. Also, a KPMG report lists the assets of 30 Luxembourg banks, which provided an additional source for identifying banks that fall under the €11.55 million mark established earlier in this report.

• Banque Raiffeisen is a cooperative bank with 27,490 members and €7.223 billion in total assets.

CONCLUSIONIn conclusion, Netherlands-based Triodos, Belgium-based Keytrade, and Luxembourg-based Banque Raiffeisen are Tier 3 banks operating in the Benelux region with fewer than 500,000 customers each. The Benelux Tier 3 tab of attached spreadsheet provides the compiled data for these banks.

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UK Tier 2 - Core Banking System Vendors

I found the pre-compiled information about the core banking system vendors of provided banks. One of the provided sources is two years old. Therefore, I added another source to back up the information collected. I have filled columns G-H of the attached spreadsheet with all the information needed. 

Key Findings
1. Aldermore Bank uses Temenos’ T24 System as their core platform and Backbase’s Omnichannel Banking Platform for digital banking.

2. The core banking system of Al Rayan Bank (formerly known as Islamic Bank of Britain) is Misys platform running on an IBM AS/400.

3. C. Hoare & Co uses Backbase’s Digital Banking Platform for back-end software and SS&C Technologies, SimCorp's HiPortfolio, and SimCorp Dimension Systems for the bank's investment management section.

4. Cambridge & Counties Bank uses Phoebus Software as its front-to-back office software.

5. Monzo Bank has its own built platform with GPS as their processor.

6. Starling Bank has its own in-house developed core system that uses GPS and Bottomline Technologies for all operations.

ConclusionThe requested information about the core banking system vendors of provided banks has been provided in columns G-H of the attached spreadsheet.

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UK Tier 2

Aldermore Group PLC, Islamic Bank of Britain Business Banking, C. Hoare and Company, Cambridge and Counties, Monzo Bank, and Starling Bank were triangulated to be the top Tier 2 banks in the UK based on available data. Most of the Tier 2 candidate banks—from a pre-compiled recommendation list and from other sources—do not have available information on their customers numbers in order to confirm if this particular condition is met. Hence, given the limitation in information, only those banks with data on their customer numbers were included and then ranked according to their asset size.

All information about these top Tier 2 UK banks is included in the linked spreadsheet.
Aldermore Group PLC
 Aldermore Group PLC has the highest number of customers at 223,000 compared to the six other banks included in this research. The bank has the highest asset value also at £8.38 billion.

Aldermore focuses on providing tailor-made loans to SMEs and to its retail customers.
Islamic Bank of Britain Business Banking.
In terms of assets, the Islamic Bank of Britain Business Banking came in second with assets worth £1.436 billion. Its number of customers though is less than half of the Aldermore’s customers at 77,000. 

The bank offers Sharia-compliant banking and financial services.
C. Hoare and Company
 C. Hoare and Company focuses on providing its banking products and services to elite and high net worth individuals and families.

C. Hoare has 10,000 customers and £1 billion in assets.
Cambridge and Counties
 Cambridge and Counties offers the usual banking services like savings accounts, bonds, loans, and other services.

It has the least number of customers among the six at just 7400 but it has an asset value of £745 million.
Monzo Bank
 Monzo bank offers a mobile only banking app. Most of the features of traditional banks are more or less incorporated here.

The bank already has 200,000 customers with around £19.48 million in assets.
Starling Bank
 Starling Bank is another mobile-only banking app that aim to simplify the banking and shopping experience.

The company has already acquired 10,000 customers and has an asset value of £15.3 million.  
ASSUMPTIONS
Since there is no pre-compiled list containing the top tier 2 banks in the UK, some triangulation was done that led to the eventual selection of these six banks. First, the banks should have no more than 500,000 customers to qualify as Tier 2 banks. Most of the banks in the pre-compiled list or in articles about medium-sized banks don’t have this data so we restricted our selection to those small to medium-sized UK banks whose customer information was available in their annual reports. From there, the asset values were obtained in order to come up with this list of top Tier 2 banks.
CONCLUSION
The top Tier 2 banks operating in the UK are the following: Aldermore Group PLC, Islamic Bank of Britain Business Banking, C. Hoare and Company, Cambridge and Counties, Monzo Bank, and Starling Bank. These banks were included in this list as they have less than 500,000 customers and have a considerable asset value based on their annual reports.