How a leading regional financial institution with more than $85 billion in assets replaced its legacy asset liability management provider with a more transparent, integrated platform for balance sheet and risk management.
One of the nation’s premier financial services companies, with more than $85 billion in total assets and operations spanning multiple western states, selected Empyrean Solutions to replace its long-standing asset liability management (ALM) provider. Today, the institution runs Empyrean ALM®, Funds Transfer Pricing (FTP), ECL Calculator, and Capital Planning on a single platform.
The organization chose Empyrean for three reasons: transparency into how results are calculated, an intuitive user experience, and a support team invested in its success. The result is greater confidence in model outputs, easier access to analysis, and a validated platform the team trusts for strategic decision-making.
The Challenge
What led the bank to replace its ALM provider?
The bank had relied on a major industry provider for asset liability management for years. As market conditions, reporting requirements and strategic planning needs changed, the bank wanted more than its existing platform delivered.
The finance and treasury teams needed a solution that would:
- Show clearly how results were produced, from assumptions to calculations to reports
- Give analysts an intuitive way to run analyses and interpret results
- Provide confidence in the underlying models and assumptions
- Come with a partner that would be responsive and invested in the bank’s success
- Support a long-term move toward integrated financial risk and performance management
At a bank of this size, a result that cannot be traced back to its assumptions is hard to defend to examiners, auditors and the board. Transparency was not a nice-to-have, it was the core requirement.
The Solution
Which Empyrean solutions does the bank use for balance sheet and risk management?
The bank implemented four integrated Empyrean capabilities that share a common data foundation.
Empyrean ALM is the foundation of the bank’s balance sheet management. It provides balance sheet modeling, interest rate risk analysis and scenario testing, so the team can see how changes in rates and strategy affect earnings and value.
Funds Transfer Pricing (FTP) gives the bank visibility into the profitability and performance of its business lines, connecting strategic objectives to financial outcomes.
ECL Calculator represented the most rigorous part of the implementation and validation process. The bank operates multiple CECL methodologies, including short-term credit models, long-term average, and blended approaches across multiple macroeconomic scenarios. Because the bank routinely analyzes numerous combinations of models and economic assumptions, the validation requirements left very little margin for error.
To streamline this process, Empyrean introduced a Model Selector capability that enables users to run multiple methodology and scenario permutations within a single process. Rather than managing each combination separately, the bank can evaluate a broad range of potential outcomes efficiently while maintaining transparency and consistency in results. This enhancement significantly streamlined analysis and validation efforts while helping the institution maintain confidence in its CECL calculations.
Capital Planning brings credit data into the bank’s broader financial modeling, creating a more connected view of risk and performance.
The Results
What results has the bank achieved with Empyrean Solutions?
The Results
Greater transparency. The team has clear visibility into model assumptions, calculations and outputs, giving leaders more confidence in the numbers behind their decisions.
An easier user experience. Analysts can access information, run analyses and understand results more quickly.
Streamlined CECL scenario analysis. By introducing Model Selector functionality, Empyrean enabled the institution to efficiently evaluate multiple CECL methodologies across four macroeconomic scenarios within a single workflow, reducing operational complexity while maintaining the precision required for model validation.
Validated, trusted results. Reports, models and calculations passed the bank’s validation, reinforcing confidence in both the platform and the analytics.
A responsive partnership. When the bank's requirements extended beyond standard functionality, Empyrean worked closely with the team to incorporate its CECL models into the platform and develop enhancements that simplified scenario analysis while meeting strict validation requirements.
Why Empyrean
After evaluating alternatives, the bank chose Empyrean ALM as the foundation of its balance sheet management strategy. The key factors were:
- Transparency into model calculations, assumptions and reporting outputs
- Ease of use, with intuitive workflows for analysts and managers
- Responsive support from a team invested in the bank’s success
- Confidence that Empyrean could fully replace the existing provider
- A long-term vision for integrated financial risk and performance management on one platform
For this institution, Empyrean represented more than an ALM replacement. It provided the foundation for a more connected, transparent approach to balance sheet, credit, and financial performance management.
Key Takeaways
- A leading regional financial institution with more than $85 billion in assets replaced its legacy ALM provider with Empyrean Solutions.
- The bank runs Empyrean ALM, FTP, ECL Calculator, and Capital Planning on a unified platform.
- Transparency, ease of use, and responsive support drove the selection process.
- Empyrean introduced Model Selector functionality to help streamline complex CECL methodology and scenario analysis.
- Rigorous validation confirmed the accuracy of reports, calculations, and model outputs prior to go-live.
- The bank runs Empyrean ALM
