Performance Practice:
Investment Bank
Challenge
A top-tier investment bank with operations in more than 60 countries decided in 2008 to realign its vast and diverse global real estate portfolio. The company sought to ensure that its facilities management activities would support ongoing efforts to deliver superior customer service while maintaining a strong balance sheet.
Solution
The bank engaged CS Technology to lead a rigorous review of more than 1,000 facilities in locations ranging from Seattle to Seoul. After evaluating the geographic, architectural, mechanical, electrical, technological, and business characteristics of each facility, CST developed a portfolio-wide risk assessment and remediation program that was cited by examiners at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as one of the best reports of its kind.
In addition to requirements for accuracy and clarity, the project was driven by an extremely aggressive deadline, which CST met by providing an initial report on the client’s top 25 sites in less than 15 calendar days, followed by a comprehensive report on the firm’s top 125 sites within six weeks. Concurrent with the reporting process, CST deployed a business criticality rating model and facility assessment system that integrated data and workflows from multiple business units across the enterprise and involved more than 200 bank staff members and 75 field operatives in 15 countries.
Result
Based on the review and remediation plan that CST delivered, the client was able to divest more than 200 buildings from its real estate portfolio. As a result, the firm was able to realize a multimillion-dollar savings in operating expenses, avoid significant capital expenditures, define an expedited plan for remediating safety concerns at certain facilities, and improve the resiliency profile for multiple, mission-critical business units.