FirstRand Bank goes live on SWIFTNet with SunGard`s MINT

Issued by ensemble
Johannesburg, 16 Sep 2004

SunGard Business Integration, an operating group of SunGard (NYSE:SDS), today announced that FirstRand Bank has gone live on SWIFTNet using SunGard`s MINT solution. FirstRand Bank`s first priority was to achieve a smooth cutover and go-live for SWIFTNet FIN in 2004. The go-live was achieved by implementing SunGard`s proven SWIFTNet FIN solution based on its MINT Knowledge Broker platform, providing the interface between the bank`s mainframe-based payment applications and SWIFT`s new FIN service. MINT will achieve a consolidated infrastructure capable of utilising SWIFTNet`s diverse range of network services.

The SWIFTNet project with FirstRand Bank was implemented in conjunction with SunGard Business Integration`s regional distributor, Ensemble Technology (Pty) Limited.

Owen Jones, director of the payment and SWIFT services division of FirstRand Bank, said: "We are now 100% live on SWIFTNet FIN thanks to SunGard. The project has been a big success for FirstRand Bank due to the strong global support we received from the SunGard and Ensemble team."

Jones continued: "We originally approached SunGard as we knew that it had a proven and reliable SWIFTNet migration solution. When we looked deeper into it we were pleased to discover that not only could the solution fulfil our immediate requirements but would also address our strategic needs. We are planning to use MINT as our FileAct gateway."

Danny Barsella, president of SunGard Business Integration, commented: "FirstRand Bank going live on SWIFTNet is great news for us. SunGard has deep expertise in SWIFT integration and payment applications combined with a strong global support profile. The people as well as the product were the right fit for FirstRand Bank. FirstRand Bank is typical of the requirements that we now see in this area, looking beyond the initial SWIFTNet migration towards new SWIFTNet services such as FileAct."

The `single-network multi-services` SWIFTNet revolution has led many organisations to re-evaluate their business operations architecture. Economies of scale can be achieved by consolidating many financial network services into one single business operations framework, helping to reduce total cost of ownership and increase operational efficiency.

FirstRand Bank

FirstRand Bank is a 100% subsidiary of FirstRand Limited and represents the retail, corporate and investment banking operations of the FirstRand group of companies which include life insurance, health insurance and asset management businesses. In the top 10 listed companies of the JSE Securities Exchange, FirstRand Limited is an integrated financial services group with total assets of $49.5 billion (figures at June 2003). The group provides a comprehensive range of products and services to the South African market and niche products in certain international markets. For more information, visit www.firstrand.co.za.

Ensemble

Since its founding in 1996, Ensemble has continued to provide the financial services industry with customer differentiated technology solutions. Ensemble is a distributor and service provider of select SunGard systems in SA. Additional information is available at www.ensemble.co.za.

SunGard Business Integration

SunGard Business Integration provides comprehensive integration solutions for financial services. SunGard Business Integration works with major international financial services institutions, including banks, clearing and securities houses, asset managers and trading networks. SunGard Business Integration`s MINT Knowledge family of solutions enables financial service institutions to seamlessly integrate disparate business processes and their supporting applications, and deliver highly automated and robust straight-through processing and workflow management. Visit www.integration.sungard.com.

SunGard

SunGard is a global leader in integrated software and processing solutions, primarily for financial services. SunGard also helps information-dependent enterprises of all types to ensure the continuity of their business. SunGard serves more than 20 000 customers in more than 50 countries, including the world`s 50 largest financial services companies. SunGard (NYSE:SDS) is a member of the S&P 500 and has annual revenue of $3 billion. Visit SunGard at www.sungard.com.

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