The ACT Financial Systems Ltd arm of ACT Group Plc, Birmingham and Hewlett-Packard Co are working on a Unix version of ACT’s Digital Equipment Corp VMS-based credit risk analysis system, Limits. The new Motif front-ended version, Open Limits, will be targeted at the banking community – in particular the major internationals. Hewlett-Packard is contributing ‘significant’ funds towards the development costs and is providing software tools and consultancy to ACT, which is to re-engineer the new system on HP 9000 Series 700 and 800 Unix business servers. Limits is designed to integrate with corporate treasury systems and to help indicate the extent of potential risks from involvement with other parties such as members of the Maxwell empire or from fluctuating currencies. It also helps users to monitor capital, to set and manage limits policy and ensure regulatory compliance – such as the 7.6% asset liquidity to be demanded of banks as from April 1. The new version is expected to surface this summer and will be jointly marketed by London-based ACT Financial – which remains the end supplier and Hewlett-Packard, with its several hundred banking customers.
