CHALLENGE

Our financial regulatory client’s mission is to oversee the nations banks and financial institutions to ensure these banks are safe, follow the laws, treat their customers fairly, and make credit and financial products accessible.

Across the country,these examiners routinely visit these banks and savings associations to monitor their operations. The examiners look at everything from loans, investments, funds, and earnings, to the bank’s ability to handle market risks. They also check how well the bank complies with consumer banking laws, its internal controls and audits, and the management’s ability to identify and control risk.

In short, the agency’s mission is to ensure banks operate safely, give fair access to financial services, treat their customers fairly, and comply with laws and regulations.

Before 2010, the agency relied on legacy software and manual processes. When REI Systems partnered with the agency, we quickly initiated a system update. Leveraging the power of the low-code platform Appian, we streamlined workflows and phased out outdated applications, effectively modernizing operations.

SOLUTION

Since 2010, REI has launched a dozen applications using Appian’s solutions. Recognizing the need to modernize not just the technology but also the project management approach, REI shifted our client from the traditional waterfall method to Agile project management. This change increased efficiency and sparked a lasting partnership.

With the introduction of Agile, project quality improved, deadlines were consistently met, and our client was involved at every stage of application development.

We launched several successful projects, which included completely revamping an Application Tracking System in just 15 months, introducing the first Appian mobile app in under a year, and implementing the Supervisory Review Tool in less than a year.

Unsurprisingly, REI stayed on as the main contractor for the project and have built six additional applications.

REI provides Tier 2 and Tier 3 help desk support, as well as monitoring and reporting services for each of the applications we developed. We use the ServiceNow ticket tracking system to log, monitor, escalate, and promptly resolve tickets.

To maintain optimal uptime and performance, we collaborate with the infrastructure team and employ proactive processes and tools such as SolarWinds, NetIQ, and Guardium.

If the agency team identifies an issue during its scan, the team directly communicates with our team to enable a swift resolution. We also perform quarterly Appian Health Checks, with the flexibility to increase the frequency to monthly if required, to proactively tackle any potential performance, design, or security issues.

IMPACT

The REI team working with our client takes great pride in the Application Tracking System, which replaced five older systems with a single, all-encompassing solution. It’s a central hub for around 250 types of information related to national banks, including new bank openings, merger requests, stock sales, and board of directors changes.

Our main objectives were to simplify and automate the workflow for these bank actions, moving away from the outdated green-screen and paper-based system. Additionally, we focused on ensuring smooth integration with the system of record and other related applications.

Thanks to these enhancements, banks can now easily complete all required paperwork online. This substantial improvement has resulted in shorter timelines and fewer errors when reviewing, making decisions, and processing these requests.

Additionally, REI has helped our financial regulatory client achieve significant objectives and outcomes, including:

• Assessing and designing a target state architecture for a cloud-based Appian platform, helping the agency with cloud adoption.
• Using a configuration first focus, relying on configuration of Appian out-of-the-box objects and cloud-approved plugins to every extent possible.
• Data migration from four separate legacy systems into the Application Tracking System, migrating approximately 250 different filing types to the modernized system.
• Leading the initial ATO process and subsequent reauthorizations for the Application Tracking System. This included building a secure system, preparing required documentation, assisting with security scans, and resolving all findings.
• Improving service delivery and customer satisfaction through leading the adoption of CI/CD pipelines, automated testing and DevSecOps practices. REI uses tools like TFS, MSBuild, Jenkins, and Chef for automation, and Selenium, NUnit, xUnit, Coverity, and SonarQube for executing automated tests.