36 EADS Subsidiaries and 22 Banks Go Live with HVB-@GlobalTrade Guarantee Platform

Toronto/Munich November 1, 2006 – The Toronto based GlobalTrade Corporation (GTC) develops innovative, collaborative software products for global trade finance. Under the trademark @GlobalTrade™ the company services corporates that require multi-party information exchange and document management systems enabling visibility, better risk control, and cost savings, as well as financial institutions that require innovative solutions to increase their market share and protect the existing customer base.

GTC co-operates closely with Bayerische HypoVereinsbank (HVB), and takes advantage of the bank’s extensive coverage of midcaps and large multinational corporates. HVB is the third largest private bank in Germany with 5% market share, over 26,000 employees, 680 branches, and more than 4 million customers. As a member of UniCredit Group it holds a leading position in the economic hubs of Italy, Germany, Austria, and Central and Eastern Europe with over 140,000 employees, 7,000 branches, and more than 28 million customers. Its unique network allows the bank to be close to its customers wherever they are. HVB combines its skills as a lender with in-depth industry knowledge and solutions oriented towards the capital market. Corporate finance and foreign trade competence complement the product range with customized and also cross-border financial solutions.

@GlobalTrade as a multi-bank and multi-entity application that facilitates the uniform, real-time and secured exchange of information between all parties is an important tool in HVB’s trade services business strategy. HVB is hosting the platform for its customers, and supports the full range of trade services business as well as agent services for guarantee facilities through this platform. As a web-based, modular interface it can be easily customized. Major investments or changes to the user’s IT infrastructure are not required.

EADS, a global leader in the aerospace and defence industry with revenues of EUR 34.2 billion in 2005, was the first customer that mandated HVB in September 2005 to implement the @GlobalTrade Guarantee Platform in connection with its EUR 2.9 billion Letter of Guarantee Umbrella Facility which was closed beginning of May 2006. HVB acts as agent for the 36 EADS subsidiaries and as service provider for the 22 banks participating in this transaction.
“We have chosen @GlobalTrade for its remarkable flexibility and ease of use. Despite the complexity of this transaction and the multitude of banks involved, we have been able to considerably improve the transparency and efficiency of our L/G activities.” said Jörg Weber, Manager of EADS group’s guarantee activities.

“Our main task was to fully satisfy EADS’ needs,” said Markus Wohlgeschaffen, Managing Director and Head of Trade and Payment Products at HVB. “We wanted to create a truly multi-bank and multi-entity solution taking into account our customer’s organizational set up and its prevailing internal processes. We even managed to set up additional features, making the processes easier, more transparent, and secure,” Wohlgeschaffen added.

“EADS and HVB management knew exactly what they wanted and had a tight timeline for going live,” said Jacob Katsman, GTC’s CEO. “I am proud to say that our company has delivered a true multi-bank platform that is now being used in daily business by the world’s most innovative companies and banks. Other companies and banks will soon follow the HVB-EADS example, having realized that electronic multi-bank applications are possible in reality and are not only a dream of the future.”

“The technology requirements of the project included flexible workflows connecting multiple EADS subsidiaries and banks and covering full guarantee management cycle from application to release, automated multi-company and multi-bank billing, multiple authorization levels, delegated user management, various security models of the participating banks, and quick roll-out and adoption,” explains Nick Pachnev, GTC’s CTO. “Those requirements were a perfect match for @GlobalTrade platform. The platform’s comprehensive functionality, modular design, high degree of customization, and web-based access allowed our company to meet all user requirements on schedule.”

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