case-study
NWB Bank: Improving Valuation Accuracy with FINCAD

HIGHLIGHTS

 

Client: Nederlandse Waterschapsbank N.V.

logo_nwb_bank

 

Objectives

  • Reduce number of valuation software systems in use
  • Improve accuracy of valuation calculations
  • Produce valuations consistent with counterparties

 

Requirements

  • Partner with a valuation software provider offering coverage for NWB Bank’s entire portfolio
  • Ease of integration with NWB Bank’s treasury system and other infrastructure
  • Excel integration and user-friendly dashboard  

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“Ultimately we selected FINCAD because they ticked all of our boxes in terms of requirements.”

Mark van Doorn, Treasurer

 


 

Background

Nederlandse Waterschapsbank N.V. (NWB Bank) is a leading financial services provider for the Dutch public sector, serving local and regional government and utility authorities, including guaranteed housing and health care institutions.

 

Challenges

NWB Bank uses derivatives for hedging and has a portfolio of approximately 6,000 positions, which range from plain vanilla swaps through to complex structured instruments. The bank had been working with three different software providers for obtaining valuations on their entire portfolio. These valuations were provided on an end-of-day basis.

Since each system utilized different models for valuations, there was an increased risk for inconsistency and errors, particularly with their counterparties. It was also difficult for NWB Bank to get the visibility they needed into valuation calculations and the infrastructure.

NWB Bank needed a single source of truth that could help them obtain accurate and transparent valuations. 

 

Solution

“Ultimately we selected FINCAD because they ticked all of our boxes in terms of requirements,” said Mark van Doorn, Treasurer at NWB Bank. “Using FINCAD we have the ability to accurately value our entire portfolio using one system. Additionally, the flexibility of the solution, as well as the ease of use facilitated by the Excel add-in and the dashboard were of a higher caliber compared to the other competitor solutions we looked at,” van Doorn added. 

Implementing FINCAD was also successful. Paul Janse, Information Analyst at NWB Bank, said, “Throughout the implementation process, we appreciated the collaboration we had with the experienced FINCAD team. They not only provided us with modeling options for our valuations but also gave us recommendations on which of those options might work best.”

“With FINCAD, we have been able to integrate market data and valuations in an automated and seamless end-of-day valuation process.”

Paul Janse, Information Analyst

 

Results

NWB Bank now uses one powerful calculation engine for generating consistent valuations on its portfolio of nearly 6,000 positions, consisting of vanilla interest rate swaps through to more complex structured products.

Specific benefits include: 

  • Modelling Consistency: Full valuation consistency across applications and instrument types
  • Improved Collateral Management: Determination of collateral flows manages counterparty exposure
  • Seamless Integration: Integrate seamlessly with internal processes, systems, and infrastructure
  • Accurate End of Day Valuations: Internal reporting, managing balance sheet exposure, and producing external reports required for regulatory reporting 
  • Improved Hedge Accounting: Running approximately 100,000 instrument valuations twice per month is far more stable and consistent
  • Better Flexibility: Options for customization and the flexibility to expand into new markets, instruments, and asset classes 
  • Improved Control: Increased transparency and control over valuation workflow

 

Looking ahead

NWB Bank will continue to use FINCAD to easily add enhancements and expand usage with regards to new instrument types, currencies, and analytics.

 

“All in all, we are pleased to say that every one of the goals we laid out for our FINCAD solution has currently been met. We look forward to the fact that FINCAD will give us the ongoing ability to deliver more services, more quickly to our clients.”

Mark van Doorn, Treasurer