NEW HAVEN, Conn., Aug. 12, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With the help of the Continuity Control™ automated Compliance Management System, New York's Bethpage Federal Credit Union (Bethpage) has found a smarter way to manage the growing regulatory burden that's challenging many community credit unions.
Bethpage, the largest credit union in Long Island, has been working with Continuity Control to streamline its compliance management process since October 2013. With 237 thousand members and $5.6 billion in assets, the credit union saw the need early on to stay ahead of regulatory changes and the staffing and financial burdens they can present. Bethpage has implemented Continuity Control to automate all its compliance management and oversight activities on a single platform.
"Compliance is bigger than it has ever been and we needed an efficient way to keep on top of it without adding significant headcount and without degrading the return to members," said Gary Jendras, Vice President of Internal Audit with Bethpage. "Regulators are also scrutinizing whether you have an ample compliance management system and processes in place to stay ahead of the curve. Managing the sheer volume and complexity of regulatory changes in all areas of the business, for a credit union our size, requires modern technology like Continuity Control. It will allow us to manage compliance across the enterprise in an integrated, standardized way."
Continuity Control's award winning Compliance Management System (CMS) was built to leverage the power and scalability of cloud computing. It provides a unified compliance solution that is easy to deploy, yet flexible enough to meet the needs of financial institutions of all sizes. Many larger financial institutions, like Bethpage, take advantage of the open API capabilities to link to other systems so that when information changes it is automatically synchronized with the Continuity CMS. This will reduce data integrity risks and duplication of effort in managing compliance across a complex IT infrastructure typical of larger institutions.
Architected to be "regulation smart", Continuity Control is integrated to the Federal Code of Regulations, National Credit Union Association and other regulatory agencies allowing the CMS to immediately adapt when regulatory changes are issued. Continuity's regulatory experts analyze the regulations and interpret them into clearly defined work steps. Then the system intelligently connects only the regulations that affect Bethpage to its controls and policies, dynamically distributing the work to the right people at the right time. This innovative use of technology will significantly reduce the time and effort the credit union previously spent to research new regulations and implement compliance requirements.
"Credit unions that have reached the size of Bethpage have a unique set of challenges in serving hundreds of thousands of members and managing large branch networks with complex technology infrastructures; all while dealing with ever changing regulations," said Andy Greenawalt, Continuity Control's co-founder and CEO. "These financial institutions need a compliance solution that will change at the speed of regulations. While it is designed to be simple to use, the Continuity CMS is built on an open platform that can be tightly integrated into larger environments which delivers big efficiency gains. Making these types of material improvements, a financial institution can turn compliance management from a business deterrent into a strategic advantage."
Continuity Control was recently recognized by Gartner as a 2014 Cool Vendor for the innovative approach of coupling valuable insight and services of banking and compliance specialists with its compliance management software. This model represents a unique value proposition for credit unions as it provides smart technology and expert services at one predictable subscription price.
To find out more about Continuity Control, register for an online tour at www.continuity.net.
About Continuity Control
Continuity Control is a compliance management system for community banks and credit unions that has been engineered to reduce the time, cost and risk impacts of regulation. This single, unified system automates the entire regulatory lifecycle — managing regulatory updates, policies, procedures, risks, vendors, audits, business continuity and exam preparation along with compliance strategy and planning. Built by bankers and former examiners, the system's advanced software has been coupled with expert personalized service to help community financial institutions quickly adapt to regulatory change, streamline the workload and ensure compliance. Continuity Control serves more than 14,500 financial institution users across 38 states and one U.S. territory. For more information visit www.continuity.net.