A key client of the Swiss firm is appointing a special auditor to review a recent technology project after it was beset by delays and skyrocketing costs.
Duesseldorf-based Apobank [Apotheker- und Aerztebank] is appointing an outside audit firm to review a multi-year $564 million project to renew its technology and move to a core banking system provided by Avaloq, it said in a statement (in German). The move was first reported by German-language website «Private Banking Magazin».
«We have appointed a well-known auditing firm to independently review the entire information technology project,» Apo boss Ulrich Sommer wrote to clients. The German retail lender said it will wave fees for June, when the migration took place. A top executive, Olaf Klose, has left in the wake of the project.
Major Tech Project
Three years ago, Apobank was budgeting a small triple-digit million euro sum for project costs, then another low double-digit million in-house to get itself into shape for it. The bank saw its bill for the renewal, which includes Avaloq's services, skyrocket to about 500 million euros ($564 million). A spokeswoman for Avaloq wasn't immediately available for comment.
Apobank matters greatly to Avaloq because it represents the second big migration in three years, following a gargantuan project with Raiffeisen's 253 cooperative banks in Switzerland. The review comes as Avaloq's private equity shareholder, Warburg Pincus, begins seeking an exit after its plans foundered, as finews.com reported last month.
