INDUSTRY

Sun Microsystems announced that Equity and Derivatives BNP Paribas has selected Sun Fire V20z servers to improve the performance of its grid computing infrastructure. The solution will help the firm address Basle II, which is a major international risk management regulation that is designed to help financial firms manage risk better. General Secretary of Equity and Derivatives BNP Paribas Bernard Gavgani said, "On top of the technical performance of these solutions, we established a trusting relationship with Sun. We deeply appreciate how professional the whole team has been working on this project." Christian Hiller, CEO of Sun Microsystems France, said, "Sun is already a key player in the field of risk management. The Sun Fire V20z server line, based on the close collaboration between Sun and AMD, helps us deliver the high performance systems that our customers need to be more competitive." Equity and Derivatives, a part of BNP Paribas group, which is a Fortune 500 stocks and derivatives company, acquired more than 100 Sun Fire V20z servers. The servers, which are based on AMD Opteron processors, will be part of the compute grid which run the firm's risk management application. The new servers will help increase the performance of the bank's existing grid infrastructure. The Sun Fire V20z server delivers the highest price/performance ratios available on the market (see the latest independent benchmark by SAP Sales & Distribution Standard Application dated August 8, 2004). Moreover, the AMD Opteron processor-based architecture offers both 32 and 64 bit applications, enabling the firm to gain maximum advantage from its existing investments. In addition, the integrated service processor provides the possibility to remotely manage and supervise the equipment on site, reducing operational expenses. Capital Accord from the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision of the Bank for International Settlements has made new recommendations for operational risk management encouraging banks to become more sophisticated in their analysis of risk, more closely aligning regulatory requirements with internal risk measurement methods and improving operational process controls. By modernizing their risk practices, it is believed that banks can achieve more consistent process execution, maximize operating efficiency, improve available information to support credit decisions and reduce regulatory capital requirements. Compliance with Basle II is adding urgency to banks' enterprise-wide risk management projects, and many banks are leveraging the regulation to revamp their global risk practices and policies to gain a greater competitive advantage.