EFG International and BSI, the two Swiss private banks, which are merging their business, will use one IT platform only. They have now decided which one and also who will manage the merger.

When EFG International announced the acquisition of BSI from BTG Pactual, it was clear from the word go that the combined business would have to forego one of the two IT platforms currently in use. After all, about half of the estimated synergies of 185 million francs are to be found in the IT units of the two private banks.

EFG has now decided that the combined company will continue to use the software of Temenos, with which it is working already. BSI on the other hand has been using an Avaloq platform.

Management Team Appointed

BSI will be migrated to EFG's Temenos platform by the end of 2017, the Zurich-based bank said in a statement today. The use of one platform only will safe the combined company an estimated 100 million Swiss francs. In addition to these savings, a further 85 million francs will be cut from the current operating costs of the two banks by 2019.

EFG has also decided who will manage the integration. It will be a team of three managers, with EFG strategy boss Peter Fischer, Christian Flemming of the COO office at BSI as well as Sanjin Mohorovic of BSI Overseas.

The three managers will take up their work after the completion of the financial transaction, expected for the fourth quarter of 2016. The integration is planned to be closed by the end of 2017.