EDS signs $100m in contracts with major financial services firms around the world

EDS today announced new, renewed and add-on contracts valued at $100 million for information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing services with major financial services firms in Europe and the US.

"EDS consistently applies its 35-plus years of financial services expertise to create high-value solutions that positively impact our clients` results," said Rob Baldock, global leader, EDS Financial Services industry. "We aim to deliver best-in-class services to our clients so they can provide competitive, innovative and secure financial services for their customers." Today`s announcements, financial terms of which were not disclosed, include:

* An eight-year agreement with new customer, Banca Popolare Di Sondrio for mainframe hosting services. EDS will host the 191-branch Italian bank`s mainframe environment, which runs the bank`s application systems.

* Multiple contracts with California State Automobile Association (CSAA), including a nine-year, add-on agreement for additional mainframe hosting services in EDS` Sacramento Service Management Centre. Within the two companies` current relationship, which goes until 2013, EDS provides a variety of IT services that include managing CSAA`s core business applications, mainframe computers, local-area network, midrange servers and 8 500-plus desktops.

* A five-year extended agreement with Soci'et'e G'en'erale, one of the leading financial services groups in Europe with more than 15 million customers in France and other countries. EDS will modernise, standardise and provide support for 15 000 workstations and 6 000 printers, and telecommunications network services for 20 000 users for the leading France-based financial services firm. Also recently announced:

* A five-year transactional-based business process outsourcing agreement with multimillion-dollar potential with new client, The National Clearing House (NCHA), for transaction processing services. Services will expand check image solution options for NCHA members, including Image Replacement Document (IRD) printing and distribution to address the recently signed Check 21 legislation.

EDS is also organising a European Financial Services Forum that begins 10 February 2004 in the UK. Focusing on strategies for significantly reducing IT costs at the conference, EDS will share its perspectives on how financial services firms can establish long-term programs to lower IT costs, minimise redundancy and migrate to an industry standard infrastructure.

As a pioneer of IT services for the financial services industry, EDS provides a wide range of outsourced services from payments and securities processing to applications development and network, customer relationship management and helpdesk services to all sectors of the industry.

EDS`s work in the worldwide financial services industry accounted for approximately 14% of the company`s revenue in 2002. More than 15 000 EDS employees work on finance-related projects in 29 countries for clients such as Abbey National, ABN AMRO, Aegon, Aon, Bank of America, Bank of Canada, Bank One, Barclays PLC, CIBC, Commonwealth Bank Group, KBC, Korea First Bank, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland, Visa and Westpac.