Case Study: First Citizens Bank achieves 89% processing-time reduction and major efficiency gains with Finastra's Fusion Phoenix

Powering decades of banking excellence with Fusion Phoenix

First Citizens Bank, a family‑owned community bank serving Iowa and Minnesota since 1994, faced increasingly complex, time‑consuming core workflows as it expanded digital banking (mobile, web and text) and prepared for cloud migration. The bank has used Finastra’s Fusion Phoenix core banking solution for decades, and engaged Finastra to help rearchitect legacy processes and modernize its platform for the digital era.

Working with Finastra, First Citizens Bank upgraded to the latest Fusion Phoenix, redesigned some 2,400 workflows and began migrating its on‑premises core to Microsoft Azure. The Finastra‑led solution delivered an 89% reduction in processing time, saved 55 person‑days per year, produced significant cost savings and improved API/cloud integration capabilities—freeing staff to focus on new products and customer service.

First Citizens Bank

Joleen Fleming

Chief Operations and Retail Officer