Chase Manhattan confirms complete internal euro overhaul

US investment bank Chase Manhattan has revealed plans to convert its internal European operations around the single European currency. According to analysts it is the first bank in the world that has confirmed a major overhaul of its systems to comply with the euro. It will cost the bank around £75m to complete.

Wendy Haylock, a spokeswoman for the euro advisory organisation Business and Software Developers Association, said: "Most banks have said they will trade in euro's and can offer banking services based around the euro but none have confirmed an internal conversion yet."

Chase hopes the early conversion will help it win market share in the European finance sector as it becomes more united in line with European Monetary Union (EMU).

Charles Brewer, chairman of the Computing Software and Services Association EMU group, who also sits on Treasury and EU committees, commended the move: "Any bank which is this prepared for the euro will have an advantage in the next few years - many other banks will follow Chase Manhattan's suit."

Two weeks ago KPMG published a survey showing that US companies are better prepared than their European counterparts for EMU. Euro consultant Richard Davis there said this could be an example of such differences: "In some cases, US banks in London and Europe, like Chase, realised earlier than local banks the implications of EMU and many acted quickly."

However, Davis added that on average the European finance sector has managed to catch up.