As part of the deal, IBM will take management control of the bank's in-house IT services provider; about 300 employees will transfer to IBM under the arrangement.

Paul McDougall, Editor At Large, InformationWeek

April 20, 2007

1 Min Read

IBM said Friday that it has won a five-year deal to provide Switzerland's Banque Cantonale Vaudoise with a broad range of tech services while assuming management control of the bank's internal IT operations.

The contract is worth about $460 million, IBM said.

As part of the deal, IBM will take management control of Unicible, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's wholly owned, in-house IT services provider. About 300 Unicible employees will transfer to IBM under the arrangement.

IBM is not taking an ownership stake in Unicible, an IBM spokesman said.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise is in the process of integrating its back office and IT operations with those of Zuercher Kantonal Bank, another of Switzerland's state controlled banks. IBM will provide services to both institutions once the integration is complete, according to news agency Reuters.

An IBM spokesman was not immediately able to confirm the report.

IBM, however, said it does plan to use Unicible's facilities in Lausanne to create a broader tech services unit to serve other banking customers.

No layoffs are expected as a result of the moves, according to a statement issued Thursday by Unicible.

Unicible said it was approached by "several major actors" interested in taking control of its operations in addition to IBM. The transfer is scheduled to be effective as of June 1, 2007.

About the Author(s)

Paul McDougall

Editor At Large, InformationWeek

Paul McDougall is a former editor for InformationWeek.

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