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Standard Chartered subsidiary, Scope International signs 'knowledge partnership' MOU with Cambridge Integrated Services First of its kind deal that goes beyond BPO services Chennai, India, – January 12, 2006: Scope International, a 100 percent subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank, UK, has formed a knowledge partnership with Cambridge Integrated Services, the BPO arm of Scandent Solution Corporation Limited (subject to regulatory approvals), and signed an MOU to offer knowledge services to the banking and financial sector worldwide, w ith a primary focus on the U.S., European and Australasian markets. “Scope International is a leading Banking BPO. The company undertakes a comprehensive range of services in transaction processing for wholesale and consumer banking. In the last four years, Scope has been successfully supporting all 56 countries where the Standard Chartered Group has a presence and has proved to be a superior Shared Service Centre for the Bank. The company is benchmarked amongst industry peers in business process outsourcing and is recognized as a leader in the banking and financial services verticals,” said Jaspal Bindra, General Manager – South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank, India. Scope International's infrastructure and proven expertise in transaction processing for wholesale and consumer banking has attracted wide interest in the Banking vertical. Scope has carefully chosen Cambridge as its knowledge partner. “We are delighted at this opportunity to work with the Scandent Group and to demonstrate our experience and expertise in the Banking sector . Scope International's industry best data security systems that are compliant with international standards, its metrics driven culture, best-in-class business continuity framework, risk controlled processes, and its world class people practices, make it the ideal knowledge partner for providing expertise on a consultancy basis to Cambridge to facilitate the transition of back office transaction processing to locations of Cambridge's choice,” said Jan Verplancke, CIO, Group Head – Technology & Operations, Standard Chartered Group. “Cambridge 's business model provides the onshore client-facing services that have been missing from the BPO industry until now,” said Chris Sinclair, Executive Chairman and CEO, Scandent Solutions. “Through our liaison with Scope International, financial services firms can lower the risks and costs of moving into outsourcing and gain a competitive advantage from improved quality of services, greater efficiency, and of course lower costs of services.” Cambridge will directly interface with all customers and be responsible for all service level agreements (SLAs) and statements of work (SOW), as well as providing the sales and delivery engines which will be supported by Scope's superior know-how in the banking industry. Additionally, Scope will designate as consultants, some of its key employees to the Cambridge Banking BPO Strategic Business Unit to assist in its formation and growth. All the transaction processing staff will be on the payroll of Cambridge Integrated Services. Cambridge’s workforce assisted by Standard Chartered's mature off-shored operations will provide banks an ideal solution to increase their profitability and focus their resources on growth and continued success. During the first phase, Scope will provide infrastructure for about 350 seats mounting to 1000 to 1500 seats in the medium term. “Cambridge will leverage its entire sales and marketing collectively to drive this business forward,” said Satyen Patel, Executive Vice Chairman, Scandent Solutions. “The partnership with Standard Chartered Bank's subsidiary Scope International, solidly differentiates Cambridge in the financial services industry by leveraging Scope's experience, know-how and credibility. As banks turn to seamless outsourcing solutions to remain competitive in the global market, the potential for growth is tremendous.” Currently, about 80 percent of the world's large banks have outsourced operations, while only 50 percent of midsize and smaller banks are benefiting from this trend, according to a study by Deloitte. In the last four years, financial services firms have reduced their expenses by $8-$12 billion through outsourcing and off shoring, saving an average of 37 percent of each process outsourced. These savings are critical as banks struggle with cost pressures such as technology investments to merge disparate systems resulting from multiple acquisitions, compliance with new regulatory requirements, and the migration to more online banking processes. About Scope International Scope employs approximately 10% of the Group's global workforce. Talented professionals from various backgrounds enrich the skill mix of the company. The average age in Scope is 28 with a male to female ratio of 70% to 30%. Scope Centre has been created as a world-class custom designed facility with a built up area of about half a million square feet. Scope's world class Disaster Recovery site is located in Padur, 35 kilometres from Scope Centre. About Standard Chartered Group Standard Chartered PLC is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and is in the top 25 FTSE-100 companies, by market capitalization. About Scandent Solutions Corporation Ltd On September 6, 2005, the Board of Directors of Scandent Solutions decided to merge the company with Cambridge Services Holdings LLC. The merger is subject to the requisite regulatory and shareholder approvals. The resultant entity will be renamed as Cambridge Solutions Limited. For more info about Scandent, visit www.scandentsolutions.com. Media Contacts: Scope International |
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