News Archive

WATERS, November 1999
Risky Business - column by Samara Zwanger

What's next for Finsoft? The Internet

Finsoft's enterprise-wide risk management system is more adaptable and also cheaper, says managing director Predrag Popovic, whose three-year-old firm already boasts an impressive client list that includes ABN Amro, Deutsche Bank and Nomura.

Finsoft offers object-orientated technology, a database and analytics all embedded into a middleware tool. That allows the system to run independent of a financial institution's infrastructure, business logic and presentation logic. It's also component-based, so a firm can install what it wants.

In addition, the company is set up as a service provider. That means Finsoft bears the implementation costs and the user charges $250 per user per month for the minimum report required by regulators. "We're trying to get away from the typical software (model) where the user pays through the nose," Popovic says.

Finsoft actually offers three packages: Foundation Products, which includes its object-orientated database and management servers; middleware, which features business rules for the analytics; and FinRisk, an enterprise-wide real-time risk management system.

Within the Foundation Products suite is the Fincore Toolkit, which holds the objects used to integrate all technology; the Fincore Framework, designed to process and manage the objects; the FinCat, a categorized repository of full functional FinCore objects.

The middleware component contains servers and databases to facilitate risk monitoring and management. The servers address position keeping, analytics, curves, cheapest to deliver information and Value at Risk.

And FinRisk is structured to deliver information to the desktops in real time. Finsoft uses Java in the front end, while the middle tier has Java C++ and publish/subscribe technology. Relational databases are used for the data warehouse.

Finsoft has a number of ex-Nomura folks in its ranks. Besides Popovic, there's Chris Walker, now co-founder, director and head of market risk; and Milan Novkovic, co-founder, director and head of technology. The three are joined by Mark Cutis, director and business strategy adviser; Olga Pavlova, head of credit risk; Diego Morales, head of operational risk.