Banco Santander Totta Signs IT Services Deal With IBM

1 January 1970

IBM and Banco Santander Totta today announced an outsourcing services contract under which IBM will manage the bank's technology infrastructure. The project will provide operational support to Santander Totta's 640 branches across Portugal.

Banco Santander Totta is part of major international banking group Grupo Santander, which operates in more than 40 countries and is one of the largest banking groups in the Euro zone. Grupo Santander has recently been at the forefront of technological innovation in the retail banking industry.

As part of the deal, IBM will take responsibility for the management of the bank's infrastructure technology, including its central systems and UNIX servers, as well as providing business continuity and recovery services through a network of IBM Recovery Centers.

The contract enables Banco Santander Totta to gain flexibility and rationalize its IT costs. Instead of focusing on a one-off enhancement or infrastructure upgrade, the deal provides a strategic modernization path towards a fully flexible architecture. This will allow Banco Santander Totta to retain its leadership position by constantly adapting to harness the latest technological innovations and respond to the latest business challenges.

António Horta Osório, President of Banco Santander Totta, said, "The partnership with IBM, whom we recognize as a high value and quality company, demonstrates the bank's long-standing commitment to remain responsive to market challenges in order to ensure our customers consistently have the very best quality of service."

"While this deal further reinforces IBM's leadership position in outsourcing services, it also demonstrates how we remain responsive to customer requirements, tailoring our on demand solutions to the exact needs of each client," said IBM Portugal Country General Manager, José Joaquim de Oliveira. "This goes beyond a simple contractual relationship and reflects a long and trusted association between the two organizations."

About Banco Santander Totta

Banco Santander Totta belongs to the Santander Group, one of the 10 major international financial institutions worldwide, and the ranking leader in the Eurozone in terms of stock capitalization. Created in 1857, the group now has 60 million clients, 9,970 branches and delegations, and operates in more than 40 countries. It is the major financial group in Spain and Latin America, and has a strong presence in Europe, particularly in the UK through the acquisition of Abbey National.

Banco Santander Totta is one of the biggest financial institutions in Portugal, with 640 branches, 6,207 employees and around 1,7 million clients. In 2004, the bank achieved a net income of Euro 289 million, 20% higher than in 2003. Turnover was Euro 53 billion. Banco Santander Totta has been leading profitability and efficiency in the banking sector, with an ROE of 19,3% and an efficiency ratio of 41,9%.

About IBM Global Services

IBM Global Services is the world's largest information technology services and consulting provider. Some 190,000 professionals in more than 160 countries help clients integrate information technology with business value -- from the business transformation and industry expertise of IBM Business Consulting Services to hosting, infrastructure, technology design and training services. Leveraging IBM's unequalled scope and scale, IBM Global Services delivers integrated, flexible and resilient processes -- across companies and through business partners -- that enable clients to save money and transform their businesses to be more competitive. For more information, visit www.ibm.com/services.

For more information contact:

IBM Portugal:
Filipa Valente
IBM Public & Media Relations
Tm. +351 966 918 707
T. +351 218 927 721
Fax. +351 218 927 508
fvalente@pt.ibm.com

IBM Europe:
Arlene Wainstein
Communications Manager IBM Global Services EMEA
Phone: 33 (0) 141 88-6664
Mobile: 33 (0) 6 7275-9574
arlenewainstein@fr.ibm.com