Manama, Bahrain – February 2009. Futurebank, a Bahrain-headquartered full commercial bank, has announced the successful completion of its overall IT Services Enhancement project in collaboration with China Systems, the largest trade services solutions vendor in the world, in a record eight weeks.

The project enabled Futurebank’s Trade Department to upgrade its systems using China Systems’ CS Eximbills technology, an integrated trade finance system designed to automate the full range of Trade Finance activity as well as the communication needs of the bank.

China Systems first executed a thorough compatibility study to ensure that all Futurebank requirements were met by the Eximbills Business Model. The company further provided Futurebank with the production setup, data migration and data take-on support that enabled the bank to commence live operations well ahead of a conceived schedule which has made a precedent for both organizations.

Dr. Valiollah Seif, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Futurebank, commented on the bank’s successful collaboration with China Systems, “Futurebank’s unusual growth in spite of market conditions has led us to upgrade many of our systems. This most recent project is in line with our long term strategy to provide superior, world class, Trade Finance solutions to our growing customer base. By partnering with such a renowned trade services solutions vendor, China Systems, Futurebank will strategically expand its comprehensive service offering.”

“We are extremely pleased to have completed the project well ahead of the traditional time frame of 12 months. Futurebank’s skilled team of professionals worked in unison with China Systems to ensure the project was carried out in a timely and efficient manner,” added Dr. Seif.

Stefan Tryggvason, Vice Chairman, China Systems, said Futurebank was a prestigious addition to their client base and stated “China Systems was very pleased with the speed and efficiency with which the project for Futurebank was completed. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with the bank and supporting them as they expand their reach and operations within the Middle East region.”

“China Systems’ Business Model is functionally rich and caters for the most creative of business processes and accounting requirements. These features enabled the Model to be well accepted by Futurebank with minimal changes,” added Tryggvason.

About Futurebank

Futurebank is a full commercial bank as approved by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). The Bank has its headquarters in Manama, Bahrain and was established on 1 July 2004 as a Joint Venture Project between Bank Saderat Iran, Bank Melli Iran and Ahli United Bank (AUB) Bahrain.

Established with the support of the Central Bank authorities in both Bahrain and Iran, Futurebank has continued to build upon its core strength of aligning the vast multi-market potential of the national economies which it inherently represents, providing its clients with rapid access to these markets, along with world-class financial services.

Focusing primarily in wholesale investment banking, Futurebank targets the financial flows between Iran and the GCC countries. The bank seeks to channel debt and equity capital from the GCC into Iran in either conventional or Sharia compliant structures. Additionally, the bank has been granted the first domestic currency full commercial banking license issued to a foreign bank in Kish Island, Iran, where it hopes to commence operations soon.

The bank currently has three branches and an Offshore Banking Unit in Bahrain. The bank is registered in Bahrain and regulated by the Bahrain Monetary Agency.

About China Systems

China Systems is the largest trade services solutions vendor in the world with offices throughout Europe, USA, Asia and the Middle East. With more than 200 customers worldwide, China Systems has a growing and loyal, international customer base.

Established in 1983, China Systems has gained extensive experience in international banking systems by exploiting the functional adaptability and development capabilities of Eximbills, its renowned toolkit for Trade Services within the banking industry. Eximbills provides support for Traditional Trade, Open Account, Supply Chain Finance, and Payments operations.

Apart from our rich technical heritage, we also offer true global product implementation as well as support and maintenance services. We have worked with banks to implement our products throughout their global branch network.

China Systems has several alliances with other software vendors and key organisations such as Citrix, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and SWIFT, which has awarded us SWIFTReady Application Labels for Trade Finance and TSU (Trade Services Utility).

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