Treasury solution for LPBank, Nguyễn Ánh Vân, Deputy CEO of Fortune Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LPBank)

By Robin Amlot

Nguyễn Ánh Vân, Deputy CEO of Vietnam’s award-winning LPBank takes us through the stages of its transformation with the implementation of Finastra’s Kondor

Gaining two accolades at the Global FinTech Innovation Awards for the successful implementation of the Kondor Front-to-Back Treasury solution, the project was successfully implemented at LPBank within a very short timeframe, concurrently with LPBank’s Core Banking transformation and the deployment of several other systems connected to the Core Banking platform.

Nguyễn Ánh Vân, Deputy CEO of LPBank explains what made this project stand out: “Despite the tight schedule, the Kondor Frontto- Back Treasury project successfully went live as planned, was fully integrated with the new Core Banking system, and met LPBank’s postgo- live transaction readiness requirements. We consider this to be an outstanding success of the project.

“In addition, the close collaboration between LPBank and Finastra, with implementation support from Finastra’s local partner, NGS, in promptly and effectively resolving all arising issues, along with the strict adherence to all project milestones as scheduled, ensuring that the project’s go-live timeline is not delayed and does not impact the go-live of the Core Banking system, has also been recognised as a major success.”

What benefits flow to the bank from the integration of the front, middle, and back-office function?

“The implementation of Finastra Kondor, aimed at establishing a seamless transaction flow from front-middle-back office, has brought tangible benefits to LPBank’s daily treasury operations in the financial markets. With the project going live, transactions are now processed automatically throughout the entire lifecycle – from trade entry, limit checks, accounting and settlement processing, to trade information management and portfolio valuation – replacing previously manual or semi-automated processes performed separately at each stage.

“In addition, centralised trade and portfolio management on a single system has significantly reduced operational risk, improved labor productivity, and enabled both comprehensive and detailed
performance assessments of transactions, thereby contributing to enhanced management efficiency.

“The end-to-end management of transactions, from initiation to completion, within a closed-loop process minimises the need for manual intervention, thereby ensuring the accuracy, completeness, and integrity of transaction data. This significantly enhances risk control capabilities as well as the effectiveness of trend and volatility analysis based on available information.

“Moreover, with its built-in features and high level of customisation, the system is well-positioned to support LPBank in handling and managing transactions even as new financial products and business requirements emerge in the future. This ensures continuity and efficiency in transaction operations over the long term.”

What was the process of the project – what inputs were required on either side?

“As the project required a rapid go-live, it was necessary to correctly identify the key objectives, implementation plans and necessary requirements from both LPBank and Finastra right from the outset. Throughout the implementation process, close and timely coordination, along with prioritised allocation of both human and material resources from both sides, played a key role in ensuring the project was delivered according to the schedule.

“Specifically, from the very beginning, the project team clearly defined detailed execution steps and the objectives to be achieved at each stage and consistently adhered to them throughout the implementation period. When issues arose, project team members from both sides engaged in immediate and timely communication, taking decisive action to resolve problems without delaying the project timeline. Moreover, the personnel involved from both sides were experienced professionals with relevant knowledge and experience, which significantly shortened the time required to handle issues and contributed to maintaining the project’s overall progress. Despite being implemented within a short timeframe and under resource constraints (due to the need to allocate resources to other projects), LPBank made a strong effort to assign key personnel, those with in-depth knowledge of Treasury, Accounting, and Payments, to participate in the project. On the Finastra and NGS side, all project participants were seasoned experts with extensive experience in implementing the system both in the Vietnam market and international.

“In addition, the close oversight and continuous support from the leadership teams of LPBank, Finastra and NGS throughout the project implementation, along with strong commitment to the timeline and unwavering backing from the highest levels of management, served as a solid foundation for all parties to work collaboratively and successfully deliver the project on schedule.”

Were there any issues that needed to be addressed/tailored?

“During the implementation process, due to the need to integrate with LPBank’s Core Banking project – which was at the same time being carried out – there were periods when the project team had to adjust certain execution steps. These included running some implementation phases concurrently, modifying user creation plans, rescheduling data migration timelines, and adjusting the go-live date to align with the progress and integration requirements of the Core Banking system.

“In addition, during the gap analysis and implementation phases, the project team analysed and customised several system features and interfaces to comply with specific requirements from LPBank. These adjustments were made in response to the unique regulatory requirements of the State Bank of Vietnam, as well as LPBank’s internal policies.

“The allocation and arrangement of resources in an appropriate manner also posed a challenge. Simultaneously implementing multiple IT projects required careful planning in terms of time and
personnel to ensure that all necessary resources (hardware, software, servers, etc.) were prepared and made available for each project phase (configuration setup, UAT, pilot, go-live, etc.). In addition, the coordination and assignment of personnel from various business units to participate in the project needed to be handled in a synchronized and suitable way to ensure that all issues were thoroughly assessed from a comprehensive perspective.”

This project sets a benchmark for treasury and risk management innovation – do you see it as opening doors for you elsewhere in the region?

“We believe that the implementation of the Kondor Front-to-Back Treasury Solution has helped and will continue to help LPBank enhance operational efficiency, improve professionalism in treasury operations, and move closer to international standards in the field. This progress will facilitate LPBank’s efforts in regional and global integration.”

What’s the process of keeping Kondor evergreen?

“During system operations, LPBank works closely and regularly with Finastra and NGS to ensure the system runs continuously, efficiently, and without disruption. All parties maintain timely communication and coordination to address any issues that may arise, ensuring that incidents are resolved in the shortest possible time and that LPBank’s transactions are processed smoothly and effectively.”

How is AI going to change your solution and its functions?

“In today’s trend, AI is increasingly being applied across various areas of banking operations. We believe that in the future, the development and integration of AI into different components of the system is entirely feasible. In such a case, we are ready to embrace and adopt the system’s new AI-driven solutions.

“For example, AI can be integrated into the System and support LPBank in business and risk management as follows:
• Analyse and evaluate the bank’s business activities, thereby
creating management reports on request.
• Search for off-market transactions, alerting leaders.
• Forecast market fluctuations: exchange rates, interest rates, and, based on market data integrated into the system and based on technical analysis, fundamental analysis.”

What future business opportunities do you see and where?

“Vietnam is a developing economy, and opportunities for expanding financial and banking services – particularly in Tier-2 urban areas and rural regions – remain vast. With its extensive network across all 63 provinces and transaction points reaching the district level of Vietnam, LPBank sees significant potential for future growth in these areas.”