US-based IT giant acquires bank IT firm as basis for providing shared core banking platform to three savings banks.
News site Finextra reports that a multi-year deal has been struck between Cognizant and three of Finland’s savings banks: Savings Banks Group, Oma Savings Bank Plc and Pop Bank Group. Cognizant is to build on the products Temenos T24 and Savings Hub.
Needed a world partner
As part of the agreement, Cognizant takes over Samlink, the current IT platform provider which is jointly owned by several banks. The largest shareholders have been Savings Banks Group, Aktia Bank and Oma Savings Bank.
According to its chairman Tomi Närhinen, Samlink was in need of an experienced global scale partner. He calls the agreed project the most significant digital transformation project to date for the banks.
A platform for growing
Santosh Thomas, president of global growth markets at Cognizant, sees growth ahead.
“We plan to establish banking and financial services’ centres of excellence at [Samlink’s] facilities which will enhance Cognizant’s ability to serve clients across the Nordics, specifically, and in Europe as a whole.”
Samlink has two delivery centres in Finland.
Cognizant’s Nordic activities include not least Sweden-based Cognizant Technology Solutions Sweden AB, which had nearly 260 million SEK in sales in 2017, on around 90 employees.