HP and Banque du Liban complete feasibility study for the Strategic Secure Banking and Information for Lebanon (SeBIL)project, identify13 secure network projects in Lebanon

The partnership has identified 13 key projects as priorities in repositioning Lebanon as a regional financial centre, and discussions are currently underway to extend the project to other sectors in the country.

The feasibility study was undertook by HP with Banque du Liban (Lebanon's central bank), representatives of ABL (Lebanese Banking Association) and the banks in Lebanon and was financed by the US Trade Development Agency (USTDA), BDL, ABL and HP.

Announcing the outcome of the feasibility study, HP's district manager, Financial Services Industry, Gulf and Levant, Shadi Banna, said that study had fulfilled and surpassed all its aims. "When we launched the feasibility study for the Bank, it was with the sole aim of streamlining their various functions and communications with the Lebanese financial community. The findings, however, have opened a window to the possibility of applying it to various other financial transactions in Lebanon," he said.

Dr. Nasser Saidi, First Vice Governor, Banque du Liban confirms this: "The benefits of the Strategic Secure Banking and Information for Lebanon (SeBIL) project are manifold, and they can easily be adopted by other sectors in easing and facilitating efficient payment transactions. For instance, the study has identified various means to reduce overheads, increase manageability of data and enable quicker decision-making. These are factors that will improve regional and international competitiveness not merely at Banque du Liban or in the Lebanese banking industry, but can be easily applied elsewhere in sectors such as insurance, industry, trade, health, travel, media, management and consulting. Indeed, SeBIL is the main building block for the e-Lebanon vision, which should transform the Lebanese economy into a knowledge-based economy and society. SeBIL will be the basis for e-commerce, e-payments and e-services in Lebanon and extending to all the Lebanese émigré populations."

The HP-driven SeBIL feasibility plan took 9 months in completion, and was accomplished by a team of IT consultants from the Bank, together with HP consultants and e-solutions engineers.
Dr. Saidi also elaborated on the projects identified by the partnership, as priorities in creating a secure network infrastructure and online connections between financial markets in Lebanon, within a time frame of two years.

"Close on the heels of completing the study, we have identified 13 national projects which include Security and Management Infrastructure, Electronic Reporting, Wed Based Applications, Real-Time Settlement System, Automated Clearing House, Treasury Management, Help Desk, Banking Supervision Audit System, Costing System, Market Decision Support System, Asset Management System and Business Continuity, that will commence immediately. We have also issued our first Request For Proposal (RFP) to create a secure payment infrastructure, since the completion of the study," he confirmed.

Mr Ali Nahle, IT Director, Banque de Liban confirmed that the BDL had "prepared an RFP for a Secure IT Infrastructure (SITI) for the Banque du Liban to support the SeBIL project, with the aim of providing a secure IT infrastructure based on the principles of confidentiality, integrity, authentication, validation, verification, non-repudiation, availability and assurance. The sub projects of SITI include Authorization and Control (the Non Repudiation Services and the Authorization of User Access), Identity authentication, Boundary management, Cryptographic Services, Secure communications, Security Management, Enterprise System Management, Systems and Network services, Software Validation and Verification, Data Disposal and Destruction. As a Central Bank our priority is a secure, efficient communications and IT infrastructure."