Lakshmi Vilas Bank Cuts Costs With MIS Solution

Lakshmi Vilas Bank, incorporated in 1926, has crossed INR 12607 crore on March 31, 2009, with net profit of INR 50.30 crore. With a fairly good quality of loan assets the Net NPA of the bank was pegged at 1.24 percent in 2009 down from 4.98 percent in 2005. At present, it has a network of 246 branches, 5 satellite branches and 5 extension counters, spread across 14 states and Pondicherry, a union territory.

Vedhanarayanan, Assistant General Manager, Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB), Tamil Nadu, is in a quandary. Reason… An important piece of information is urgently required by the top management for taking a critical decision. His team is unable to put together the information on the fly. LVB’s systems were under-equipped to deal with such an emergency.

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The management team faced similar predicaments each day. The Accounts and Planning team spent a large part of its day collating financial data from 251 branches, submitted in various formats. Analysing, archiving and creating statutory reports took valuable time, effort and resources.

B Murali Nair, Chief Technology Officer, LVB, wanted to improve reporting and information management to streamline internal business processes. Lack of relevant up-to-date information was undermining the efficiency of the bank. Customers wanted faster and more relevant information; while employee productivity was hampered; and the management was continually struggling for the right information to take timely decisions.

LVB was no stranger to efficient IT systems. The core banking solution by iFlex was running on a Component-Based Servicing model. While the solution managed core banking efficiently, it was inadequate to meet the company’s growing MIS requirements. New developments in technology such as information dashboards, real-time information and quick analytics were the key objectives set for the new reporting tool.

In today’s fast-moving, information-driven economy, quick response is the key to success. LVB needed to make decisions that impacted customers, sales and profitability, growth and new opportunities. V S Reddy, MD & CEO, says, “The Bank needed to leverage the voluminous data in the core banking system and convert them to intelligent information to help decision making. This kind of decision support system has a dramatic impact on the bottom line.”

The Right Remedy

Decision made, the search for a viable option began. The bank chose a solution by D2K Technologies. Led by an ex-banker with functional and technical knowledge of the financial services industry, the MIS solution offered consolidation, accuracy and real time information for internal use as well as compliance related reports.

Evaluating the underlying database technologies, B Murali Nair, comments, “We wanted to create and deploy a data-driven solution quickly. Microsoft SQL Server 2008 along with its Integration and Analytical add-ons fits the shoe. It provides security, reliability, and scalability for business-critical applications.”

The next step was to successfully implement the solution. D2K Technologies consolidated user requirements at every level. Nair along with a team of top management led a new MIS department to ensure a smooth implementation.

The project was divided into 3 phases. The first phase was completed within 10 months. 200 reports were assimilated and made available on a single platform.

A Competitive Edge

Post deployment Murali Nair, Chief Technology Officer of LVB sports a happier and more relaxed look. “Microsoft SQL 2008 has given us a competitive advantage vis-à-vis our peers. The speed with which we are able to provide information to internal stakeholders, customers and government departments has improved significantly with over 80 live reports,” says Nair.

Savings and Earning Potential Up

This translates into savings in many forms. The branch is not busy preparing statements anymore; the Accounts department doesn‟t spend time collating reports of 251 Branches. On an average, each person saves almost 3 hours a day, leading to substantial saving in people cost. The focus on productive tasks will increase business by an even more significant number. What’s more, branches no longer need to send report to the head office. The information is available centrally on the Bank’s Intranet.

Improves Financial Management & Compliance

The Accounts department and planning department has benefited the most. The time spent on consolidation of statements from 251 branches has been cut by at least 30 percent. Compliance and reporting to the Reserve Bank of India and other government agencies is faster and far more accurate with reports generated as per compliance requirements. “Consolidation of financial information for 251 branches is a breeze. We save 30 percent of our work-day and we have nearly 100 percent
accuracy to boot,” explains Vedhanarayanan. The days of manual reporting and days and nights spent on checking and rechecking numbers is in the past.

Dashboards Enable Management with Decision Making

Earlier, the management constantly looked for accurate information, often waiting weeks to take critical decisions. Again a thing of the past, the new solution enables live decision support information as dashboards for the management. Tabular and graphical representation with the ability to drill-down is available on desktops. “The combination of SQL Server reports accessed through our Microsoft Office SharePoint Server based Intranet leverages the analytical capabilities and presents a crisp, informative dashboard to the executives of the Bank,” comments Nair.

MIS Solutions Empowers the Bank

The new solution is much more than just reporting tool. It’s changing how LVB functions and thinks. Not only are the employees more efficient and happier, the management is setting strategic goals by evaluating past trends. Plans and roll-out of decisions is also faster. Simple business activities are no longer time consuming… business reviews; reports, compliance information all happen on time. Each employee can access relevant, secure information from a central location. Customers perceive the bank as smarter and sharper with access to more relevant information. Overall, all stakeholders have seen a perceptible positive impact on the Bank’s image.