AnaCredit Implementation – Phase 1
at Hamburger Sparkasse AG

The tasks involved in the implementation at Hamburger Sparkasse AG (Haspa) included technical project management as well as support with business process design, test case definition, and test execution for all IT-based and business-related activities related to the structural and content-based creation and submission of reports to the Deutsche Bundesbank starting in January 2018. In this context, the task was to pilot the Abacus360 software solution from BearingPoint for AnaCredit and to support the preparations for replacing the existing Abacus/DaVinci solution.

The data requirements and software functions of the software provider for the regulatory reporting solution—some of which represent fundamental changes to the previous regulatory reporting framework—are subject to the requirements of the European Central Bank.

After completing the preliminary study at Haspa, the consultants at CAS AG also took on the responsibility of providing support for the subsequent “AnaCredit Phase 1” implementation project in the following areas:

AnaCredit Technical Specifications
The ECB’s guidelines on AnaCredit—some of which were highly theoretical and, at the time of their initial publication, still abstract or vague—had to be broken down to the level of Haspa’s day-to-day operations and translated into process changes and/or modifications to the IT systems. In particular, this involved analyzing the specific characteristics of the data from various upstream and intermediate systems, aligning them with reporting requirements, and defining the necessary derivations. The experts at CAS AG have thoroughly familiarized themselves with the European directives and the Deutsche Bundesbank’s national requirements for AnaCredit at the individual attribute level and have actively supported the transition from ABACUS DaVinci (Classic) to A360/DaVinci embedded.

IT-Based Design and Implementation
“During the implementation of AnaCredit, the consultants from CAS AG served as a link between the business unit and IT,” said Ralf Odebrett, Program Manager at Hamburger Sparkasse. The most important skills for this role were extensive knowledge of banks’ lending operations, a very good understanding of IT and architecture, and strong methodological and management skills to implement the business concepts developed by the line department and the associated requirements for providing the information. The implementation of Abacus360’s data requirements carried out by Haspa’s IT department had to be monitored throughout the entire delivery process and verified through integration testing and regression testing.

Test Design and Administration
The IT requirements for Haspa resulting from the business concepts that were developed were subjected to several rounds of testing by specialists from Hamburger Sparkasse and CAS AG in the form of outcome types. To this end, it was necessary to define individual tests and cross-functional test scenarios for the Customer, Account, and Collateral clusters related to supplier deliveries, as well as various tests regarding the features of the standard software, and to develop the test data sets.
In addition to documenting the test results, employees of Hamburger Sparkasse—and in particular the consultants from CAS AG—were responsible for reviewing the developed concepts in the event of deviations from the expected results and, if necessary, reporting errors to Haspa’s IT department or the software vendor’s support team.

Implementation of Abacus360 Standard Software
CAS AG’s team of experts has been supporting Haspa since 2016 in implementing the new AnaCredit module on the Abacus360 reporting platform. As one of only a few pilot customers, Haspa was able to actively help shape and improve the software design—to the extent possible—by discussing the test results with suppliers and other institutions, as well as by participating in professional and technical working groups of ABACUS/DaVinci users alongside BearingPoint, the software vendor.

The preparatory work for Haspa’s AnaCredit report at the end of January 2018—based on the new Abacus360 reporting platform—was completed at the end of 2017 as part of the project supported by CAS AG. The goal was to successfully complete the technical and technological design and implementation—drawing on comprehensive expertise and including up to eight test submissions to the Deutsche Bundesbank—in order to actively support Haspa in submitting AnaCredit reports that were both factually accurate and on time.

With the implementation of AnaCredit, this mandatory reporting will be ensured by the retail bank through the newly introduced Abacus360 reporting platform.

“We value CAS AG’s technical expertise and experience in implementing regulatory requirements, as well as its professional project management,” said Ralf Odebrett (Program Manager for Regulatory Affairs) regarding the collaboration. The implementation of the European Central Bank’s regulatory requirements was carried out responsibly—in terms of deadlines, quality, and budget—as part of the project management function, in part by CAS AG’s consultants. Following the go-live of the Abacus360 platform and the submission of the first AnaCredit report, CAS AG’s consultants continue to support Hamburger Sparkasse during the stabilization phase and in addressing changes in the course of the “AnaCredit Phase 1” project. Until June 2019, this also included the preliminary study and preparations for the relaunch of AnaCredit processing (implementation of the Apache Spark framework).