Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) Perspectives

CGI's advice on how the federal government and financial industry can manage the enormous challenges ahead

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The events of the past six months require a quick and resilient response from both the federal government and banking industry. While the event and response are unprecedented, there are several opportunities that those involved in the TARP program can undertake to rebuild the public trust, which will help stabilize the markets and the economy.

With 35 years in the IT services industry - working closely with both the federal government and banking industries - CGI provides the following recommendations for all agencies and banks:

Focus on governance. The TARP Program is investing significant taxpayer dollars in financial assets. Having a solid framework that manages the structure, relationships and reporting processes of large, complex initiatives is fundamental to success. From our own experience in managing complex initiatives on behalf of banks and federal agencies, governance provides for needed standardization, transparency and accountability.

Reuse existing systems and solutions and continue to innovate. Treasury should leverage existing federal and commercial systems for loan and property management as well as financial management. For agencies not involved in the TARP program, leaner budgets will require them to identify ways to trim redundancies. Financial institutions should look to consolidate business processes and technologies to achieve significant savings and should continue to transform their legacy operations to respond to growing customer demands.

Rely on partners for help. To make the most of budget dollars in tough times, identify which services are most important to fulfilling agency missions and banks' bottom line initiatives. Look to IT partners to improve the management of back-end technology and business processes required to operate. Also consider and identify partners that are able to invest while governments and banks are constrained by budget limitations.

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