Northside Bank Enhances Compliance Posture with Safe Systems’ Vendor Management Solution

Vendor management has always been an important issue for bankers but with increased regulatory demands, examiners are now citing financial institutions for not adequately managing their third-party vendors. In response, many financial institutions are looking for ways to more effectively manage their roster of outsourced vendors while protecting themselves from the associated compliance risk.

Georgia-based Northside Bank is just such an example, as it wanted to streamline its vendor management program to more efficiently monitor and manage its third-party providers. The bank began researching vendor management solutions to find a partner that could adequately meet its compliance needs, and after careful evaluation, selected Safe Systems’ industry-specific, automated vendor management solution. As a result, the bank is now able to cost-effectively execute its vendor management initiatives despite its lean IT staff.

“We needed help simplifying our vendor management processes to better meet regulatory requirements,” said Kim Grimes, VP, Director of Information Systems at Northside Bank. “With only one internal IT resource at the bank, Safe Systems helped us more efficiently manage our third-party vendors and successfully achieve our IT, security and compliance goals.”

Improved Compliance and Streamlined Processes

The products and services Safe Systems provides have enhanced the bank’s ability to meet regulatory needs and provide the necessary technology to both its staff and customers. The bank reports that Safe Systems’ application and support services have also produced meaningful time savings, allowing bank staff to focus more time and energy on additional revenue-generating activities.

“Working with Safe Systems has really simplified our vendor management process,” said Grimes. “Not only are the manual, time-consuming responsibilities now fully automated, but our exam process has been much smoother and regulators have been impressed with our program. In fact, our auditors and examiners have even commented that the Safe Systems solution is such a comprehensive product.”

A Trusted Partner

While the bank originally selected Safe Systems for NetComply, through the years it has added additional Safe Systems solutions including, Continuum and C-Vault disaster recovery services, SafeSys Mail hosted email along with the Vendor Management Solution.

“We consider Safe Systems to be a true partner to our bank and we greatly value their knowledge and support,” said Grimes. “Working with the Safe Systems team enables our bank to thrive in today’s challenging environment. They truly understand our business and what examiners require from us, and have the staff and products to support, meet and exceed those expectations.”