Chennai-based mid-tier banking financial services and insurance IT product company Polaris Software Lab has picked up 51% stake in Bangladesh?s largest nationalised commercial bank, Sonali Bank, for an undisclosed amount.
Following the buyout, Polaris has formed a new joint venture company, Sonali Polaris Financial Technology (SPFTL). Also, as part of the deal, the existing IT system was replaced with Polaris’ core banking solution (CBS) ‘Intellect’ at 2 banks, including Sonali Bank and Bangladesh Commerce Bank (BCBL).
Polaris chairman and CEO Arun Jain said, ?This innovative co-creation model has helped us transcend the traditional vendor role, allowing us to effectivey partner with local banks to offer highly efficient and flexible products and services that will give our customers the competitive edge in the financial technology (FT) space.? According to a Polaris statement, Sonali Bank is the largest state owned commercial bank in Bangladesh with 1,188 branches and also has operations in the UK, the US, Middle East and India. As part of its transformational strategy, Sonali Bank wanted to implement on-line real time banking (ORTB) solutions in order to achieve efficiency in operations and improve customer satisfaction by ensuring better internal control and compliance.
The end-to-end Intellect core banking solution will allow the banks to run a single application for all its different functions, there by facilitating easy operation for its customers. The combination is perfectly suited to develop, modify and launch innovative product and services, thereby improving the go-to-market timeline in a rapidly developing economy like Bangladesh.
?Sonali Polaris FT will herald a new beginning in the banking technology segment of Bangladesh. Owing to Polaris hands-on experience in implementing financial technology solutions in both mature and dynamic markets to emerging markets globally, we chose Intellect CBS, a completely service-oriented architecture based solution to help modernise the bank. SPTFL will benefit the banking sector in Bangladesh as it will give them an opportunity to adopt new banking technologies and practices with an assured local support system,? said Md Humayun Kabir, managing director and CEO, Sonali Bank.
SA Choudhary, managing director, BCBL said, ?The BFSI sector in Bangladesh is all set to undergo a major overhaul. Through this joint effort, we will be able to offer quality service in rapidly emerging FT market place, through a highly cost-effective shared services model.?