Cognizant inks deal with Dexia; to take in 150 employees

Cognizant, one of the leading IT services company which is headquartered in the US and has the majority of its operation in India, on Thursday said it has signed a 10-year contract with European banking group Dexia for IT and BPO services.

According to a statement issued by the company, under the agreement 150 Dexia employees will move to a dedicated, newly-formed Cognizant company in France where certain IT and BPO services of Dexia will be transferred.

The IT services company will become Dexia's strategic provider of information technology and BPO services for capital markets and credit operations in France and Belgium.

The financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. The agreement will help the company to further expand its presence in Europe, including France, where it has delivery and operations centres in Paris, Lyon and Grenoble.

The statement said the implementation will take place in two stages - transfer of IT services will take place by November 2017, while business operations will be moved by May 2018 at the latest.

Cognizant Global Growth Markets President Santosh Thomas said the company looks forward to working with Dexia to transform its technology infrastructure and lay a foundation for more agile, efficient and secure operations, as well as digital innovation.

"Cognizant is pleased to welcome Dexia employees to our team. We value the financial services expertise they bring as we continue to augment our capabilities in the region," said Thomas.

Cognisant also stated that the agreement will provide more flexibility to Dexia's cost base, enabling potential savings of approximately 100 million euros to be made over the lifetime of the agreement.

Wouter Devriendt, CEO of Dexia, said the selection of Cognizant fits perfectly in its orderly resolution roadmap.

"Partnering with Cognizant on IT and back-office activities aims at securing our operating model, one of our key priorities given the fragmented and ageing IT infrastructure of the Group, and at providing savings and flexibility to our cost base," he said.

Dexia is a 94.4% state-owned Belgian-French banking institution under the direct prudential supervision of the European Central Bank within the framework of SSM. As on June 30, 2017, Dexia has 1,108 members of staff and total balance sheet of 199.4 billion euros.