SEB

SEB has collaborated with Vitec Aloc since 1997, and the IDEAS trading solution has been used for Danish securities trading throughout all the years. “Over the years, we’ve built up a strong relationship with Vitec Aloc,” says Mogens Juhl, Head of IT at SEB Danmark. 

Improved processes

SEB is a Swedish bank, which means that several of the reports must be sent to Sweden for further submission to the Swedish authorities. In other words, every trade carried out at IDEAS in Denmark must be transferable to the central Swedish system. In “the old days”, which in this context means before MIFID II was introduced in 2018, significant elements of this process took place manually. Manually handled trades naturally increase the risk of misunderstandings, typing errors, etc.

This meant that there was great business potential in automating this process.

”We’re very confident in Vitec Aloc and their market understanding, so when they presented an API solution that exports data directly from IDEAS to our central reporting system in Sweden, we listened intently,” says Mogens Juhl, who continues: “And today we are grateful for that.”

They know who we are

Generally, the less contact you have with your IT supplier, the better, since this indicates that everything is functioning as intended.

“Having said that, it’s important that Vitec Aloc know who we are when we call, and also that they are highly professional. This is definitely the case, and they know their systems right down to the last detail,” says Mogens Juhl.

No 'super-salesmen'

”This is naturally a business relationship, but there still is a common understanding that both parties should gain from the collaboration. For example, I have never experienced Vitec Aloc overselling anything. They don’t promise anything that hasn’t been proved correct, in order to get an additional order. This increases our confidence that when they promise something, they will deliver.”

Knowledge sharing that goes both ways

According to Mogens Juhl, knowledge sharing is key: 

Continuous efficiency improvement

The API between IDEAS and the central Swedish reporting system has contributed to streamlining processes and increasing efficiency. Vitec Aloc do not rest on their laurels, however, since instead they are constantly working on further developing the API. This means that the solution must be updated 3-4 times annually. As the API is decentrally located at IDEAS, this means 3-4 interruptions of day-to-day operations – but nonetheless, outside business hours.

Vitec Aloc’s development plans therefore include a centrally located API, which would avoid disruption to day-to-day operations at SEB Danmark. “We’re really looking forward to that,” says Mogens Juhl, who continues: “It’s taking a bit more time than we hoped for, yet we’re convinced that the end result will be very good.”

Conclusion

“In conclusion, I can say that we have a strong relationship based on mutual trust. We trust each other and that makes everything much simpler,” Mogens Juhl ends.

About SEB
SEB is a leading Nordic financial services group, founded in 1856. SEB offers financial guidance and a wide range of financial services in Sweden and the Baltic States. Furthermore, SEB has a strong focus on corporate and investment banking, based on a full-service concept, for business enterprises and institutional clients in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Germany.