The OLYMPIC Banking System from ERI, a Geneva-headquartered technology firm, has been rated the number one provider of private banking platforms for 2009 by International Banking Systems Journal.

The rating was based on the number of new institutions which selected the system last year. Martin Whybrow, the publisher of the IBS Journal, noted that while the volume of sales was depressed last year ERI had still managed to open up new markets and make sales in several regions. This year the Panama branch of Andbanc, the Lugano branch of SocGen and Geneva-based Banque SCS Alliance have already signed up.

The system was lauded by the IBS Journal as a software system that matches what the market wants: a wide range of functionality, reduced total cost of ownership, rapid installation and ease of upgrading.

ERI for its part said that it was confident about its growth prospects for the rest of this year, not least because the financial recovery will unlock technology spending which many firms put on hold during the straitened times of last year. The firm also expects that the rise of the emerging markets will drive forward growth.

"We are happy with the progress of sales of OLYMPIC Banking System. The application is aimed at private banks, wealth management and funds as well as universal retail banks. Central banks that have been won over by the integration of components and real time transaction processing also represent a growing number of ERI's clients. The recent multi-platform SOA version has greatly increased potential market size," said Michel Mathys, ERI's sales manager.