Financial Services Case Studies

Broker Dealer Firm
Stock Broker-Dealers "Buy Low, Save High"

We live in an age of near instantaneous electronic trades, executions, confirmations and settlements, so what could a stockbroker or dealer want for document assistance? Speed? Accuracy? Security? Compliance? The ability to "mine" company records for the kind of buy-sell client or equity research that will give them an edge on Wall Street?

docHarbor knows it's becoming as much a world of document compliance as it is stock investing and trading, thanks largely to SEC regulations like 17a-4 which requires archiving customer communications for three years, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, litigious investors, and, yes, sometimes even business needs like research.

It's an environment where virtually every shred of communication surrounding a trade has the potential to impact the broker or dealer in terms of customer service, strategic planning or legal damages.

So, in the midst of a pressure cooker workplace, there are broker-dealers who ensure complete, compliant repository for e-mails plus attachments and retrieval - with backup for fail-safe compliance.

They've traded up to doc Harbor Online, which saves them from potential loss because all their customer communications are compliant and makes them money with fast access to specific information.

Clearing Firm
In the Clear with Savings and Service

Until the client has the need to access important personal stock activity documents, they seldom think of the pivotal role a clearing firm plays in the interface between the customer and markets as far flung as Europe and Asia, as well as North America.

This clearing firm wanted a lot, and it got it. It began with financial accounting service integration, including achieving document compliance on everything from statements to trade confirmations to tax documents (1099s) to the new requirement - e-mail traffic. Next, the clearing firm wanted docHarbor to help reduce storage costs for its back office reports, and eliminate the broker paper copy (that alone results in major savings just in distribution costs). Ultimately, to press its competitive advantage, the company also wanted docHarbor to deliver quicker access to information for investment professionals and personalized client communications and service.

The beauty and elegance of the outsourced docHarbor solution is that on the client side, all their records can be accessed via the company's website, seamlessly and invisibly, using the docHarbor Application Program Interface (API) Toolkit.

Now, all documents are captured, managed, delivered and secured by docHarbor, and both internal customers and the client have immediate access to their data - as long as they're authorized - around the clock, virtually immediately.

In the wake of the 2001 disaster in New York, this firm maintained uninterrupted access to its files.

Credit Card Companies
"Credit Problem" Solved

If you are a major credit card company (a household name withheld here for competitive issues), what can you do if the original vendor will no longer support your legacy optical storage medium?

Enter docHarbor. Turns out that the system was growing increasingly problematic even after just five years, and now the vendor announced it would no longer support the system software. Without quick action, accessing critical credit transaction documents would soon become a nightmare which would impact the company financially in terms of labor, the inability to resolve challenges, declining customer service and ultimately brand reputation.

docHarbor responded quickly by putting all archived and day-forward mainframe print output files onto the docHarbor Online service which includes a full suite of information management tools. That immediately resolved the need for reliable, immediate access to transaction information, complete, current compliance and a newfound capability for disaster recovery.

But docHarbor's quick solution did more than that. The client's store-and-retrieval problem was solved, resolving the worry over technological competence (with minimal financial risk). Plus, they found that the docHarbor Online solution sped up the process and opened up a rich new world of report mining. The original input reports had consisted of a predictable, standard and unstructured trial balance report which makes it near-to-impossible to search for a single line or related lines of data among the two million pages generated per month. Adopting the docHarbor approach meant that authorized users could access the information they needed, when they needed it, and in the form they needed it. The company credited docHarbor with a 300% return on investment - the first year.

docHarbor Helps Private Label Credit Card To "Take Charge"

A major private label credit card company needed to improve its customer service capabilities, increase its resolution rates, limit charge-backs, and combat fraud. It turned to docHarbor Online for a single solution to address all three needs as it ended the costly "paper chase."

The objective of this company was to process credit card applications and checks by processing reports, checks, and remittance slips, to integrating the process with the check payment process already set up.

docHarbor Online featured a single repository from electronic and hardcopy documents where web-based retrieval could be accomplished quickly, accurately and securely by authorized personnel.

The end result was a system with reduced research time and personnel costs, universal and appropriate access to credit card application documents, and complete records of payments processed. From the customers' perspective, the quick resolution service improved their relationship with the credit company. And from the company's perspective, quick access to more complete information resulted in faster problem resolutions, which in turn results in faster payment, less fraud and higher profitability.

Profitability resulted from speedier retail credit card processing (applications, approval and transaction tracking), faster payments, resolution and reconciliation and also from major overhead savings because employees' time is no longer consumed with research.

Investment Bank
Investment Bank Saves by Investing In docHarbor

An international investment bank had a three-dimensional challenge for docHarbor.

They wanted to integrate it's the financial accounting system to include reports and customer documents (reports, statements, 1099s and transaction confirmations) to reduce costs and improve the function of back office personnel, brokers and clients throughout North America, Europe and Asia. The client (investment customer) would be able to access accounts transparently and seamlessly by accessing the company's website.

Deploying the docHarbor Online Application Program Interface (API) Toolkit enabled both internal and external customers to access authorized information from the docHarbor repository. There, all appropriate information dealing with transaction history and account status is captured along with all required client communication (under SEC and Sarbanes-Oxley).

Not only do investment professionals have quick and complete access to documents, clients logging on to their accounts via the investment bank website are treated to a personalized and private response anytime, day or night.

Certainly, the bank reduced storage costs of back office reports, made more profitable use of its employees' time while virtually eliminating distribution costs associated with a broker need for paper reports. Personalized client communications and service now aid the investment bank with a new competitive advantage.

The docHarbor Online solution proved another great worth with uninterrupted service during period during and following the 2001 New York tragedy.