CA`s CleverPath Portal enables rapid expansion of OneUnited Bank

Computer Associates International, Inc (CA) today announced that OneUnited Bank, the nation`s largest interstate bank currently under African-American management, has deployed CA`s CleverPath Portal to support the rapid expansion of its business through the acquisition of new member banks.

OneUnited Bank, the only interstate bank currently under African-American management, helps communities overcome the challenges created by poverty, economic disenfranchisement and community stagnation. The newly combined entity comprises Boston Bank of Commerce, Peoples Bank of Commerce in Miami, and Founders Bank of Commerce and Family Savings Bank in Los Angeles, and has reached $500 million in assets through its aggressive acquisition strategy.

CleverPath Portal has played a key role in enabling the assimilation of member banks into the OneUnited family - allowing disparate systems to be quickly integrated into common, intuitive workspaces customised to meet the needs of individuals and departments across the country.

"It used to take us months to integrate new acquisitions into our system," said Jim Barry, vice-president, Information Technology, OneUnited Bank. "Now, with the single management interface of CleverPath Portal, we can integrate new member banks into our system within days. This is critical because we`re growing very quickly through acquisitions outside of our geographic area."

OneUnited Bank evaluated competitive products including Plumtree, Sun iPlanet and ATG before choosing CleverPath Portal. Key factors in the bank`s decision included CleverPath`s ease of implementation, its powerful technical capabilities, its robust security controls and CA`s cost-effective processor-based licensing model.

In addition to centralising disparate systems, CleverPath Portal provides a standardised, browser-based operating environment for users throughout the organisation - from tellers and branch managers to marketing, finance, retail, loan, deposit, administration and back office. This substantially reduces training costs while ensuring high productivity and staffing flexibility.

CleverPath Portal also ensures the integrity of business processes by providing a single, easily managed point-of-execution for multiple related tasks.

"With CleverPath Portal, we have improved our communications, regulatory compliance, phone book, content and application management," said Barry. "All of this helps lower the cost of product delivery and increases our flexibility in pricing and fee structures."

Barry gives high marks to CA Services for the support his company received designing and implementing its solution.

"Computer Associates invested a lot of time with us to learn about our mission and understand our requirements," said Barry. "With CleverPath Portal, they have delivered a solution that meets our needs instead of trying to have us fit their model. The CA Services team was always available to point us in the direction of any resource we needed."