Zürcher Kantonalbank improves information delivery to boost customer satisfaction

Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) is a “universal bank,” providing retail, private and commercial banking services in Switzerland and worldwide, along with its continuously expanding investment and asset management services. ZKB also is the largest cantonal bank and one of 24 Swiss government-owned commercial banks in which all bank assets are backed by the canton (or district) where it is located. With approximately 5,000 employees, over 100 branches and total assets of over CHF 126.4 billion, ZKB is the leading financial services provider in the greater Zurich area.

Implementing an enterprise data distribution hub with DB2 for z/OS
To meet the need for a world-class infrastructure, ZKB deploys its 6 TB data warehouse on System z, using IBM DB2 for z/OS. ZKB’s data warehouse platform serves as a distribution hub to the bank’s downstream data marts and operational data store (ODS). This solution enables the bank to efficiently maintain service-level agreements (SLAs) for both operational and informational systems, while ensuring the timeliness of information by sourcing data from the mainframe, which minimizes latency.

And timeliness is critical. ZKB leverages System z workload management facilities to ensure the delivery of data to branch end users by 7 a.m. every day. “By allowing us to keep most of our data on the mainframe, System z provides a clear performance advantage for reporting and running queries,” says Hermann Schelling, Head of Database Engineering at Zürcher Kantonalbank. “Running our data warehouse platform on System z also enables the delivery of this crucial data to all our branches on time without fail.”

Meeting regulatory demands and data-intensive branch functions
For Zürcher Kantonalbank, the prestige of being a central pillar of the Swiss banking industry is coupled with enormous responsibilities. Beyond providing exemplary service to clients that require data-intensive branch functions, ZKB also carries a public service mandate to meet the regulatory and disclosure requirements traditionally demanded under Swiss law.

One such law requires the canton to bear responsibility for all financial liabilities should the bank’s resources prove inadequate; this regulation is meant to act as a stabilizing force for the financial market as a whole. As a result, elevated levels of legal scrutiny and fiscal accountability require the bank to maintain flawless workload management and process massive amounts of data on a daily basis. And with thousands of large batch jobs running day and night, success in meeting this regulatory challenge rests squarely on the strength of the bank’s IT infrastructure.

Data marts deliver efficiency gains and a 360-degree overview
Functioning as the central data distribution hub, the IBM DB2 for z/OS data warehouse is the foundation of the bank’s data mart strategy. Because the data warehouse feeds the data marts, reporting and query response times are fast and reliable, giving the bank a 360-degree view of both current and historical data. Individually tailored data marts in turn help ensure that each bank counter at each branch has the most current information available every morning to consistently support branch operations and meet customer needs.

Running the data warehouse on System z also boosts staff efficiency. “The same staff that runs our operational systems also runs the data warehousing, so no new employees are necessary to manage the warehouse on System z,” says Hermann Schelling. “System z allows us to achieve consistent performance and reliable uptime, which is crucial for maintaining the highest degree of customer confidence in the bank and its services.”

Providing a line of defense against data incursion
System z is able to provide high levels of security protection against data incursion, which is a primary concern within the banking industry. Security experts know that when it comes to eliminating the possibility of incursion, choosing the right platform is critical. ZKB’s security analysis team uses System z because the platform holds the highest security classification for any commercially available server, EAL5, awarded by the International Standards Organization.

“System z gives us the most advanced security possible for our data, which dramatically minimizes risk in all areas of our business,” Hermann Schelling says. “Every time we conduct an internal audit of IT solutions vital to our operations, System z is at the top of the list.”

The security system within System z is based on Resource Access Control Facility (RACF) software, which provides access control and auditing functionality for z/OS. RACF establishes security policies rather than just permission records. With sophisticated authentication, authorization and logging of all access to protected resources, ZKB has an additional layer of protection at the database administrator (DBA) level for its IBM DB2 for z/OS data warehouse.

Optimizing workload management to improve data warehouse stability
Because of its use of the System z solution, ZKB is able to offer a wide variety of banking services to its growing customer base in Switzerland and throughout the world. A net inflow of new funds totaling CHF 12.0 billion clearly demonstrates that customers are happy to place their trust in ZKB.

During 2010 alone, ZKB generated a group net income of CHF 729 million. Total assets rose by 7.8 percent to CHF 126.4 billion, while assets under management grew by 9.9 percent to CHF 165 billion. IBM DB2 for z/OS supported this expansion at the operational level. ZKB’s new scheduling system now runs more than 4,000 batch jobs during the day and 8,000 batch jobs in the evening through the data warehouses, by efficiently leveraging z/OS-based Workload Management facilities.

“Continually enhancing our investment and asset management business is the key to our stability, and System z is an important part of that process,” says Hermann Schelling.

Another way System z boosts operational efficiency is through the reuse of system resources and system “white space.” Repurposing unused processing capacity makes room for new functionality and avoids wasted resources. “System z gives us a clear edge with regard to operational efficiency, which is important when 30 to 40 users are entering new batch jobs continuously,” says Hermann Schelling. “We have reviewed competing systems, and nothing else comes close to the reliability of System z for our high-demand environment.”

Building customer satisfaction and confidence
With strict regulatory and disclosure requirements and billions of Swiss francs at stake, ZKB management views the System z platform as the only secure solution for the bank’s key transaction operational systems. System z security and market-leading high availability help ensure that the operational system is always on, always reliable and running in lockstep with the bank’s security needs as a key player in Zurich’s competitive financial community.

System z also allows the bank to continuously improve response times while securely delivering information customers need worldwide, time after time—thanks in large part to allowing ZKB to transfer transaction system quality-of-service attributes to the data warehouse platform.

“Service and discretion are the hallmarks of the Swiss banking industry, which is very customer-centric,” Hermann Schelling says. “Customer perception is everything to us, and System z has become an integral part of who we are and the trust we inspire globally.”

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