This case study explores how Synergo Group partnered with a leading Romanian bank to develop a state-of-the-art Corporate Credit Simulator, transforming the bank’s credit assessment process for corporate clients and highlighting the growing influence of financial services technologies in traditional banking operations.

The Need for Change in Financial Services

The Romanian bank faced a significant challenge in maintaining competitiveness within the financial services sector. Their existing Corporate Credit Simulator, an Excel-based tool, was outdated and increasingly inadequate for modern banking demands. This tool was integral to the bank’s credit assessment process, allowing analysts to evaluate pricing parameters for corporate loans. However, it was plagued by several critical issues:

1. User-Friendliness: The tool was difficult to navigate, making the credit assessment process time-consuming and prone to errors, a growing concern as financial services continue to prioritize efficiency and user experience.
2. Lack of Integration: The Excel-based system did not integrate with the bank’s other systems, leading to inefficiencies in the pricing approval workflow, an essential process in fintech-driven environments where seamless data flow is key.
3. Risk of Knowledge Loss: The tool was understood in its entirety by only one individual within the organization, and there was no existing documentation, posing a serious risk to process continuity—a significant liability in an industry where fintech solutions often emphasize knowledge transfer and accessibility.
4. Scalability: As the bank grew, the tool’s limitations became increasingly apparent, with the need for a more scalable and robust solution to support the expansion of financial services.

The Challenge: Navigating Complexities in Fintech Integration

The primary challenge was to replace the outdated tool with a modern, integrated application. The new system needed to be:

• User-Friendly: Simplifying the process of inputting and evaluating pricing parameters, a fundamental aspect of fintech solutions focused on enhancing user experience.
• Seamlessly Integrated: Ensuring smooth integration with existing bank systems to support an efficient pricing approval flow, a requirement that mirrors the interoperability goals seen in fintech innovations.
• Accessible: Reducing the reliance on a single individual for tool knowledge, thereby mitigating risks associated with knowledge continuity— a critical consideration in financial services where process reliability is paramount.
• Scalable and Maintainable: Leveraging modern technologies to ensure the solution could evolve with the bank’s future needs, aligning with the scalability demands prevalent in fintech applications.

Moreover, the absence of comprehensive documentation and reliance on a single expert further complicated the project, as transferring knowledge and ensuring operational continuity were crucial—particularly in a fintech-driven financial services landscape where these factors can significantly impact a bank’s competitive edge.

The Solution: A Modern Corporate Credit Simulator Powered by Fintech Principles

To address these challenges, Synergo Group developed a new Corporate Credit Simulator leveraging a cutting-edge tech stack, drawing from best practices in both financial services and fintech. The solution was designed to streamline the credit assessment process, enhance usability, and integrate seamlessly with the bank’s existing IT infrastructure.

Key Features of the New System:

1. User-Friendly Interface: The new simulator offered a simplified and intuitive user interface, making it easier for analysts to input pricing parameters and determine acceptable loan pricing, a feature that aligns with fintech’s emphasis on user-centric design.
2. Seamless Integration: By integrating with the bank’s existing systems, the new tool enabled a smooth pricing approval workflow, facilitating efficient decision-making and reducing processing times—an essential improvement in the financial services sector, where fintech-driven processes are reshaping traditional operations.
3. Structured Pricing Approval Workflow: The system introduced a price estimation flow, allowing users to finalize simulation prices and generate offers efficiently, ensuring that all stakeholders were aligned throughout the process. This enhancement reflects the growing trend in fintech to streamline and automate complex workflows in financial services.
4. Enhanced Accessibility and Knowledge Transfer: The new application was designed to be intuitive and well-documented, reducing dependency on specialized knowledge and making it accessible to a broader range of users within the organization. This approach is in line with fintech innovations that emphasize democratizing access to financial tools and data.

Technologies Employed:

• Backend Development: Spring Boot was chosen for the backend, a Java-based framework renowned for building microservices and robust APIs. This provided a flexible, secure, and scalable foundation for the application, reflecting the need for reliability and scalability in financial services platforms influenced by fintech developments.
• API Specifications: The use of Swagger specifications in YAML format ensured that the APIs were well-documented, consistent, and easy for developers to understand and maintain, mirroring fintech’s focus on clarity and transparency in financial services.
• Frontend Development: Angular 14, a modern web application framework, was used for the frontend. Its component-based architecture allowed for a modular, maintainable, and dynamic user interface, in line with the user experience enhancements typical of fintech applications.
• Data Access: PostgreSQL, a powerful open-source relational database, was selected for data storage, offering robust performance and scalability to meet the bank’s data requirements—essential qualities in financial services where data management is increasingly influenced by fintech standards.
• Runtime Platform: The application was deployed on RedHat OpenShift, a Kubernetes-based platform that provided a secure, scalable, and highly available environment, aligning with fintech’s emphasis on cloud-based, scalable infrastructure in financial services.
• CI/CD Pipeline: Jenkins and GitLab were employed for continuous integration and deployment, enabling automated builds, testing, and deployments. This setup significantly improved development efficiency and reduced the time to market, embodying fintech’s agile approach to software development in the financial services sector.

The Team: Expertise Driving Success in Financial Services and Fintech

The project was executed by a multidisciplinary team from Synergo Group, ensuring that every aspect of the solution was expertly handled:

• Tech Lead: Led the technical strategy, architecture, and overall execution of the project, bringing insights from both traditional financial services and fintech.
• Backend Developers: Focused on building and maintaining the backend APIs and services, ensuring robust and scalable server-side functionality that aligned with modern fintech standards.
• Frontend Developers: Responsible for the user interface, implementing a responsive and intuitive design that facilitated a seamless user experience, a key focus in both financial services and fintech.
• Business Analyst: Collaborated closely with the bank’s stakeholders to gather requirements, define business processes, and ensure that the solution met all functional and non-functional needs, reflecting the precision required in financial services and the innovation-driven approach of fintech.

Outcome: A Transformed Credit Assessment Process in the Financial Services Sector

The new Corporate Credit Simulator was successfully delivered, marking a significant transformation in the bank’s credit assessment process for corporate clients. The modern, integrated solution not only addressed the immediate challenges but also positioned the bank for future growth, with a scalable, maintainable, and user-friendly tool that embodies the principles of fintech innovation.

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