Bank Islam Malaysia to invest in IT solutions

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad, a Malaysian Islamic bank, has invested significantly in IT solutions spanning over a period of five years.

Jeroen Thijs, the bank's Chief Risk Officer, said here on Monday that the initial stage of the investment would see a risk management system being put in place.

Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad collaborated with SAS Malaysia to capitalize on the later's Risk Intelligence Solutions to further strengthen the bank's risk management framework.

SAS is an independent vendor in the business intelligence market operating with its business analytics software and services.

Thijs said after the memorandum signing ceremony between the two parties here on Monday that implementing the risk management system did not mean the bank was unable to handle risk at present.

The bank was aware of the risks it was facing and putting such system in place would enable the bank to take precautious and preventive measures to minimize risks, added Thijs.

He said he could not tell the exact investment involved in implementing such system but he was sure that the system would enhance the bank's performance.

The SAS Risk Management System of Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad will be completed in two phases with the first and second phases ready in January and April 2010 respectively.

The first phase deals with credit and market risks while the second phase deals with operational risk.

Thijs said the bank aimed to have a fine and robust risk analysis system so that the bank could eventually move towards offering better products.