The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian software developer has made a “huge breakthrough” by winning its first Asian financial services client, and is already “pushing” for more.

Bruce Raine, president and founder of International Private Banking Systems (IPBS), told Tribune Business he was aiming to build on the Far East “foothold” established through its deal with Hong Kong-based Commercial Trust.

Acknowledging that the Nassau-based developer of specialist software for the financial services industry had failed to exploit its breakthrough into new markets in the past, Mr Raine pledged this time would be different.

Noting the potential for IPBS to diversify, Mr Raine said of the Commercial Trust agreement: “Quite honestly, it’s huge.

“We’ve been concentrated here in the Caribbean and Central America for ever. We did have this one client in Vanuatu, but Hong Kong and Singapore are prime targets for us.

“I think it’s a breakthrough to have a good client in Hong Kong. We’d like to do a lot of business in that region. I hope the word’s going to get around that they’re using this software, and hopefully we will get more clients out there,” Mr Raine added.

“It’s a massive place, and a huge opportunity.”

Commercial Trust is a provider of statutory trustee and custodian services to private trust, foundation, asset management, private wealth and entrepreneur clients.

It is now using, under license, IPBS’s entire software package in its Asian, Swiss and European operations. Among the IPBS software products employed at Commercial Trust are its anti-money laundering/Know Your Customer format, plus the private banking, share registry, e-banking, investments and mutual fund tools.

“I hope it’ll be a very big step,” Mr Raine added of the company’s first Asian foray. “One of the problems we’ve had is that you get a foothold in a new territory, but don’t do any more with it.

“This time we’ve really got to push forward. It’s [Asia] a growing place. It’s growing very rapidly, and the Swiss are going wholesale to Singapore. Hong Kong is not a bad place either.

“These guys [Commercial Trust] are very good customers. They’re very excited about offering these services and doing whatever people want. They see big markets for themselves, and having the tools to offer the services is fundamental to them.”

Mr Raine told Tribune Business that IPBS’s business was “back on the upswing again”, the Nassau-based software developer now having 25 financial services clients.

Of these, 15-16 were based in the Bahamas, with four institutions added as customers last year. “Some came and went over the last few years,” Mr Raine added. “They couldn’t make it, but we’re back on the upswing again.

“We’re seeing additional interest in the Bahamas. That’s a good sign. We’re dealing with a couple of prospects right now that will turn into business.”

He described finding Bahamian software developers as the “biggest problem” faced by IPBS - a nod to the workforce skills/work permit debate that has gripped the nation in recent weeks.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Mr Raine. “There are a lot of IT people here, but they don’t graduate well to software. They stay in hardware, the network infrastructure side, but we need people able to develop software and program it.”