• The systems have been unified without incident.
  • More than 98% of the bank's customers now use the same IT platform.
  • The IT integration process of the group is expected to be completed in March.

Bankia has completed the IT integration of the Caja Rioja network. The 112 branches have been integrated into the bank's technology platform since 28 January.

Following this process, 98% of Bankia's customers are now incorporated in the group's common IT platform. The technology integration process will be completed in March when the La Caja de Canarias network is included.

The integration of Caja Rioja's systems into Bankia involved transferring the data of more than 200,000 customers with their respective products, balances and movements.

Antonio Ortega: "The integration aims to achieve a more efficient organisation and the ability to offer a better service to customers"

A total of 147,000 accounts, more than 260,000 debit and credit card contracts, 147,000 fixed term accounts, 34,000 securities accounts, 36,000 loans and 19,000 internet banking agreements have been migrated, in addition to 27 million account movements and 6.2 million credit card transactions.

Bankia's General Manager of People, Resources and Technology, Antonio Ortega, said, "The integration aims to achieve a more efficient organisation and the ability to offer a better service to customers. It has enabled us to convert operating expenses into investments that create value; to equip the organisation with better devices; to provide customers with new products and functionality; and to provide greater visibility for La Rioja's professionals".

In terms of efficiency, the integration enables 80% of the IT system costs, which to date were operational in nature, to be allocated to developing products and new functionalities, creating value for the customer.

Furthermore, the service is multiplying. Customers already have an extensive network of branches and ATMs available to them across the whole of Spain and a wider range of products, while the new internet banking service also has better functionality than before.

Bankia's systems have also incorporated products and services that were previously offered to the Caja Rioja network and that are now available to the rest of the bank's customers.

To ensure that all of this occurs without incident, Bankia's IT applications that process all this data have been modified to ensure that there are no changes in the contractual conditions.

A total of 19 simulations were carried out prior to the integration with more than 200 people involved in each one. Some 1,729 data reconciliation tests, 2,865 functionality assessments and numerous trial runs on branch devices have been carried out, with 30,000 hours of training provided to employees (more than 100 hours per person).

On integration day (last Sunday), all of the branches verified that the migrated data was correct and that their systems were operating correctly before they opened for business on Monday 28th. The telephone support areas for employees and customers have also been strengthened. During the first few weeks following the integration, Bankia platform experts will be present in every branch to personally deal with any minor incidents that arise.

With this latest integration, six of the savings banks that merged to form Bankia have now been integrated into the bank's IT platform (Caja Madrid, Caja de Ávila, Bancaja, Caja Segovia and Caixa Laietana). The group will complete the IT integration process in less than two months, when La Caja de Canarias joins the common IT system.

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