TCS deploys banking solution at US bank Zions, to service small banks in Israel

Software services and consultancy major TCS has unified the lending operations of US bank Zions Bancorporation, the company said in a statement.

The Mumbai-based IT company has also deployed its centralised banking solution TCS BaNCS to simplify the bank's overall information technology landscape, the statement added.

Zions was previously using a legacy loan system, which has been replaced with the TCS BaNCS platform that will service the bank's commercial, industrial, and real estate lending businesses, TCS said. The company added that this has made it more customer-centric apart from enabling the customer to reduce its time to market with its latest products and solutions.

TCS has also customised the platform for each of Zions' affiliate community banks, the company said. The latter will also deploy the BaNCS platform to replace its legacy deposits and teller platforms.

It had earlier deployed the same platform to transform its retail loans portfolio as well, it added.

“We will establish a strong foundation for a more agile business at Zions, empower their digital initiatives and significantly improve customer service and data quality," said Venkateshwaran Srinivasan, vice president and head of TCS Financial Solutions.

He added that as part of the company's digital transformation vision, TCS BaNCS has been enabling customers to deploy application programming interface (API)-enabled solutions with real-time transaction processing and data accessibility. TCS said that several institutions were grappling with the constraints of a legacy platform and should undergo digital transformation.

Zions said that the successful deployment of TCS BaNCS for its commercial lending business marked the next phase of the company's digital transformation strategy.

"With TCS BaNCS, we have been able to retire multiple core legacy systems and provide a unified, customer-centric view of information and transactions across our affiliate banks, while also retaining their individual branding," said Scott McLean, president and chief operating officer of Zions Bancorporation.

According to Zions, the banking businesses constituted approximately 70% of its revenues, and the deployment of the TCS solution will help it to better evolve with its customers’ needs even as it launches new products and services.

"The centralisation of our operations on TCS BaNCS is helping us enhance customer and employee experience and leverage data for insightful analytics and intelligent decision-making,” Mclean added.

TCS said that its BaNCS platform was designed on the digital first, cloud first philosophy, and has been deployed at more than 450 locations. The platform was a collection of loosely coupled components, services and APIs that implement global standards, it said, adding that it worked across technology environments seamlessly while laying the framework for both digital and analytics preparedness.

Zions has operations in 11 western US states with total assets exceeding $65 billion.

Meanwhile TCS chief operating officer N Ganapathy Subramaniam has told The Economic Times that the company was working with Israel’s finance ministry to build platforms that will make technology affordable for small banks in that country.

Banking, insurance and other financial sectors contribute to around 30% of the revenue of IT services companies. The sector is among many undergoing a rapid digital transformation as a result of customer expectations and increased competition from fintech startups.

Subramaniam said that the Israeli finance ministry wanted TCS to set up a complete banking service bureau in Israel, he told ET. TCS had previously deployed its BaNCS platform in Israel with Bank Yahav.

"The ministry wanted to move beyond the big three or four big banks. They want new banks to come up at affordable technology; they can quickly adopt technology that straightaway goes to an open banking concept," he told the publication.

Israel's banking sector is dominated by a large number of small banks and other financial institutions.