Portman Building Society is one of the first high street financial services providers to go live with a multi-tie model, combining a financial planning point of sale system from N4Solutions and access to a range of 'best of breed' financial products from several providers through The Exchange's market leading Exweb portal.

Portman, the UK's third largest building society, has also introduced a new back office business administration system, Officeweb, customized to meet the Societys aims of streamlining costs and improving management information and enhancing client service. The straight-through-processing experience (STP) is further enhanced by Officewebs deep integration to N4's financial planning point of sale proposition.

Both Officeweb and Exweb are powered by The Exchange and through integrating with N4's point of sale solution, create a straight through processing platform for Portmans 200 advisers with real time access to client and policy records, automated commission reconciliation and statements.

Market leading portal Exweb is the only portal with the flexibility to support a multitude of multi distribution channels. It enables distributors to switch providers as well as toggle between panel and whole of market to match the need of their customer base. It is this flexibility and responsiveness that continues to make us portal of choice for our multi tie and product panel distribution companies.

The N4 implementation provides a fully compliant, comprehensive advice system covering the full range of products from life protection through to estate planning. Supporting advisers from initial appraisal to detailed needs analysis and solution shaping, it is also available in disconnected laptop mode, allowing complete mobile access for Portmans' advisers.

Tony Prestedge, Portman's Group Operations Director comments: We are entering a new era of financial services as a non-contended multi-tie. In a market of growing consumer awareness and demand for quality advice, our panel of providers will offer customers a breadth of coverage and service. Our customers and adviser network will benefit from online and electronic new business transactions.

David Child, managing director of The Exchange says: Portman fully embraced the opportunities of depolarization and we have worked well together to implement an integrated solution.

David Child adds: We're ambitious to grow our business and see multi tie creation as one of the routes to achieving this. By investing heavily across all our e-trading services we can maintain our competitive position among traditional IFAs and multi ties. As well as improving the basic high speed comparative quote and transaction services, we are working with the industry to anticipate and create solutions that give advisers significant efficiency, speed and price advantage.

Steve Jones, Chief Executive of N4Solutions said: We have a very well established relationship with Portman who we believe now has a market leading capability at point of sale. Portman has the ability to engage their customers in a simple but comprehensive manner across the product areas of mortgages, insurance and financial planning. The launch of the 'Multi Tie' proposition is further endorsement of N4 as the leading strategic point of sale partner in the UK.

The Exchange has already created multi tie or product panel solutions for 12 major financial services companies since depolarization: Barclays, Millfield, National Australia Bank, Principality, and Simply Biz, are already live following competitive tenders, with several more contracts in the pipeline - including the new network led by Lord Leitch.

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