Cognizant inks deal with Dexia; to take in 150 employees

IT firm Cognizant today said it has signed a 10-year contract with European banking group Dexia for IT and BPO services.
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, Cognizant said in a statement.
The financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Cognizant will "become Dexia's strategic provider of IT and BPO services for capital markets and credit operations in France and Belgium," it added.
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.

"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," the statement said.

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.
The agreement will enable Cognizant to further expand its presence in Europe, including France, where it has delivery and operations centres in Paris, Lyon and Grenoble.

Dexia is a 94.4 per cent 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.