G&C specialises in services around the application software environment of financial institutions.

Specific areas where we can provide added value to our customers:

IT Strategy and IT Governance

Based on the client’s business strategy and business plans we suggest how to streamline and optimise the application landscape in the short, medium and long run. In our analysis we make sure that existing investments are used as far as reasonable, that economically justified requirements are distinguished from “nice-to-haves”, and new technology options are exploited where they deliver additional business benefit (and not just because they are available or interesting). Our recommendations will include those for quick wins as well as the broader long term target – together with a clear migration plan.

IT outsourcing options are considered as part of the IT Strategy if so requested by the clients, or as a stand-alone effort.

Recommendations for effective IT Governance will ensure that business requirements are supported by IT in the most effective way. This is often known as “Change Management”; we use to call it “Banking and IT Integration” highlighting that IT needs to follow business requirements and priorities, but in turn can also influence business processes by suggesting new automation paths or technology options.

Software Implementation Services

For more than 20 years we are implementing application software system in banks and other financial institutions. Depending on client needs we work on the bank’s side or as part of the vendor’s team. We may take responsibility for the entire project providing the project manager and all skills required for a successful implementation and system integration or we may fill resource gaps on the bank’s or vendor’s side, e.g. by providing experience business analysts, technical architects, developers or testers.

We have been implementing core banking systems, risk and compliance solutions, content management solutions, and individual modules or interfaces.

Compliance and Risk Management

Working for international universal and investment banks we have gained specific experience in compliance challenges like anti-money-laundering, trade surveillance, regulatory reporting, and conflict management as well as operational risk (e.g. fraud prevention) and credit/market risk requirements like Basel II, II.5, III, capital adequacy etc.

Operational Control

Strategic bank management requires aggregated information from a variety of business areas, not least risk and profitability management. Sourcing such data, ensuring data quality, analysing and accessing data via respective data marts and aggregating it into information that effectively supports management decisions or satisfy regulatory requests meets a number of challenges ranging from technical communication platforms to data governance and performance. Optimisation of related business processes and procedures is a challenge of its own.

Our concepts for data governance, business process optimisation and reporting emerged from numerous projects and are designed to overcome these challenges.

Resourcing

Within the last 20 years of business within the banking IT arena we have been able to build a large network of highly skilled professionals working as employees or associated contractors with G&C. Skills cover the entire system development lifecycle, from project managers to business analysts to developers and testers.

We are happy to provide these skills to client-lead development or implementation projects, working under the client’s management.
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