DGAP-News: Aareal Bank is the first German bank to fully migrate its core banking system to SAP S/4 HANA

Aareal Bank is the first German bank to fully migrate its core banking system to SAP S/4 HANA

Wiesbaden, 28 November 2019 - Aareal Bank has become the first bank in Germany to complete the full migration of its core banking systems to the SAP S/4 HANA platform. Concurrent with the upgrade to SAP's latest software version, Aareal Bank also migrated its entire SAP systems environment, thus benefiting from accelerated processing speeds for its core IT systems as well as from new, innovative functionality. The Bank is now optimally positioned for further investments to enhance the processes of its divisions and its IT in the near future.

Going forward, SAP S/4 will be the foundation for further modernisation and harmonisation of the IT architecture. Moreover, the Bank will be able to benefit even better from the latest developments in the market - such as the mapping of complex data models or intuitive user interfaces with business intelligence features - from SAP or from third-party providers. Aareal Bank also expects the simpler and more efficient maintenance of its systems following the move to SAP S/4 HANA.

"The rollout of SAP S/4 HANA is a key milestone within the scope of our 'Aareal 2020' programme for the future. When it comes to digitalisation, we are not only successful with our IT subsidiary Aareon, but also in our core banking processes", said Hermann J. Merkens, Chairman of the Management Board of Aareal Bank AG.

The project was successfully completed within just 15 months. Consultants FAS AG and okadis Consulting GmbH contributed significantly to the project's success, providing extensive support to Aareal Bank's team with the planning, coordination and technical implementation of the migration.

"The migration allows us to decouple applications, and to reduce the complexity of our IT architecture. Moreover, the new system allows us to implement innovative developments more efficiently", said Thomas Ortmanns, member of Aareal Bank's Management Board.

SAP S/4 HANA is not the only element that ensures Aareal Bank's systems are ready for the future: the Bank has also adopted a pioneering role in adopting the IBM cloud solution, which has been under implementation since September.

Aareal Bank Group
Aareal Bank Group, headquartered in Wiesbaden, is a leading international property specialist. It provides smart financings, software products, and digital solutions for the property sector and related industries, and is present across three continents: Europe, North America and Asia/Pacific. Aareal Bank AG, whose shares are included in Deutsche Börse's MDAX index, is the Group's parent entity. It manages the various entities organised in the Group's two business segments: Structured Property Financing and Consulting /Services. The Structured Property Financing segment encompasses all of Aareal Bank Group's property financing and funding activities. In this segment, the Bank facilitates property investment projects for its domestic and international clients, within the framework of a three-continent strategy covering Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific region. In its Consulting/Services segment Aareal Bank Group offers its European clients from the property and energy sectors a unique combination of specialised banking services as well as innovative digital products and services, designed to help clients optimise and enhance the efficiency of their business processes.