Crown Agents Bank, the UK-regulated bank providing cross-border payment solutions across the Global South, has strengthened its interest rate risk management through its partnership with Edinburgh-based Almis International Ltd.
This follows the introduction of a multi-currency interest rate swap hedging programme that has materially reduced the bank’s interest rate sensitivity.
“Using Cobalt, the Almis Treasury Management System (TMS), together with Almis Hedge Accounting, Crown Agents Bank introduced interest rate swaps for the first time, moving from vendor selection to live hedging in around four months,” said Almis.
“Almis was chosen following a competitive selection process, enabling the bank to extend its hedging toolkit beyond bonds to interest rate swaps.
“The partnership has since expanded, with Crown Agents Bank now working with Almis to bring high-quality liquid assets (HQLA) fixed income assets onto Cobalt.
“With a core banking system that continues to serve its payments and FX business well, the bank needed a modular solution that could add interest rate swap and hedge accounting capability alongside its existing systems, rather than a wholesale replacement.
“Almis offered the modular fit, speed to implement and cost-effectiveness the bank needed. By year end 2025, the bank had its interest rate swap programme in place, hedging its structural interest rate exposure.
Aasif Sarigat, Banking Director, Crown Agents Bank, said: “Introducing interest rate swaps for the first time was an important step in strengthening how we manage risk across our balance sheet.
“We needed a solution that would let us hedge our interest rate exposure more effectively, work alongside our existing systems rather than replace them, and give our teams the capability to run a more sophisticated hedging programme. Almis did all of that, and we were live within four months.”
Jake Rose, Chief Commercial Officer at Almis International, said: “Introducing interest rate swaps for the first time is a significant step for any bank. Crown Agents Bank set a clear objective and a tight timetable: get the hedging right without disrupting its core banking platform.
“Their team’s focus made that pace possible. It shows how banks can add specialist treasury capability as they grow, one piece at a time, rather than replacing everything at once.”
Almis International helps banks and building societies manage their balance sheets. Its cloud-based platform brings treasury management, asset and liability management, regulatory reporting and hedge accounting together, running them all from a single source of data and giving finance, treasury and risk teams one consistent view of the balance sheet.
With more than 30 years’ experience, Almis is a specialist in balance sheet management, supporting more than 60 banks, building societies and financial institutions globally.