 "We'll close SunGard acquisition by the fourth quarter: Gary Norcross")
Florida-based Fidelity Information Services (FIS), the technology provider to the newly-opened Bandhan Bank, recently announced the acquisition of Pennsylvania-based financial software company SunGard, which would create a firm with combined annual revenues of $9.2 billion.
Gary Norcross, president and chief executive officer of FIS, talks to Namrata Acharya about the synergies it will create for the Indian market. Edited excerpts:
Please throw some light on your recent acquisition of SunGard and its possible synergy with India operations.
What are your hiring plans in India, and what will be the staff strength of SunGard in the country?
At present, we have 8,500 employees in India. How much we grow will depend on the overall growth of the country. Since 2007, we have increased the staffing from as low as 3,000 to 8,500 at present. We find India a great place to work as well as to augment our staff strength. Following our acquisition of SunGard, we’ll have 2,500 more associates in India.
How big are FIS’ operations in India and what are your core areas of operation?
We have been in India for 19 years now. We started as a small processing business around payments. We grew from payments business to areas such as switching and ATM processing. Today, we have around 10,000 ATMs under management in the country. We have now moved on to core bank processing. We were successful in the Mahila Bank mandate, which was our first entry into core banking processing in India. Bandhan had been a challenge for us. It opened 501 branches at a go, and our team worked hard to implement the plan.
Is it unusual for a new bank to open 501 branches on a single day?
This is an amazing feat. In my career, I don’t recall any bank opening 501 branches on a single day, except Bandhan. We are excited about partnering with Bandhan. Our team worked very hard. We were challenged, and our team met the challenge.
How different was working for the Bandhan Bank mandate than for the Mahila Bank one?
We had a great relationship with Mahila Bank. We launched the bank in 55 days. The difference with Bandhan is that Mahila Bank is much slower in expanding its branch network.
What kind of revenue growth are you expecting this year?
Our non-US business growth has been close to 10 per cent for the past five years. Asia is the fastest growing region, led by India. We hope to continue to see the trend. We are excited about the new charters for payments banks and small banks. There has been a lot of competition in the region, and we have been successful so far. In the US, our business is large and more penetrated; so, the growth is much slower. Our combined growth would be five to seven per cent.
How big are India operations in terms of revenue?
India is the fastest growing country in Asia, which is our fastest growing region outside the US. So, India is strategic for us. A little over 20 per cent of our revenue comes from the non-US market. Of our present revenue of $6 billion, nearly $1.2 billion is from outside the US. Asia would be the fastest growing region outside the US.
What is your outlook on the Indian market, given India’s thrust on financial inclusion?
Financial inclusion is very important for India, and FIS is happy to be playing a part. We just launched a financial inclusion lab in Bengaluru. Now that we have 11 charters announced on the payments banks side, we want to grow our business in India. We are committed to India as a market and we plan to engage with the new charters, and also the small finance banks.
Gary Norcross, president and chief executive officer of FIS, talks to Namrata Acharya about the synergies it will create for the Indian market. Edited excerpts:
Please throw some light on your recent acquisition of SunGard and its possible synergy with India operations.
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SunGard is a great acquisition. What SunGard offers is different from what FIS offers. FIS is more focused on retail banking. SunGard is going to take us to wealth and trust management. It fits more into capital market, like post-trade settlement and high-end derivatives. It also brings us high-end treasury capabilities. We’ll be evaluating these products for Indian markets. But not all products are appropriate for all markets. We hope to close the SunGard acquisition by the fourth quarter of this year and then move into integration.
What are your hiring plans in India, and what will be the staff strength of SunGard in the country?
At present, we have 8,500 employees in India. How much we grow will depend on the overall growth of the country. Since 2007, we have increased the staffing from as low as 3,000 to 8,500 at present. We find India a great place to work as well as to augment our staff strength. Following our acquisition of SunGard, we’ll have 2,500 more associates in India.
How big are FIS’ operations in India and what are your core areas of operation?
We have been in India for 19 years now. We started as a small processing business around payments. We grew from payments business to areas such as switching and ATM processing. Today, we have around 10,000 ATMs under management in the country. We have now moved on to core bank processing. We were successful in the Mahila Bank mandate, which was our first entry into core banking processing in India. Bandhan had been a challenge for us. It opened 501 branches at a go, and our team worked hard to implement the plan.
Is it unusual for a new bank to open 501 branches on a single day?
This is an amazing feat. In my career, I don’t recall any bank opening 501 branches on a single day, except Bandhan. We are excited about partnering with Bandhan. Our team worked very hard. We were challenged, and our team met the challenge.
How different was working for the Bandhan Bank mandate than for the Mahila Bank one?
We had a great relationship with Mahila Bank. We launched the bank in 55 days. The difference with Bandhan is that Mahila Bank is much slower in expanding its branch network.
What kind of revenue growth are you expecting this year?
Our non-US business growth has been close to 10 per cent for the past five years. Asia is the fastest growing region, led by India. We hope to continue to see the trend. We are excited about the new charters for payments banks and small banks. There has been a lot of competition in the region, and we have been successful so far. In the US, our business is large and more penetrated; so, the growth is much slower. Our combined growth would be five to seven per cent.
How big are India operations in terms of revenue?
India is the fastest growing country in Asia, which is our fastest growing region outside the US. So, India is strategic for us. A little over 20 per cent of our revenue comes from the non-US market. Of our present revenue of $6 billion, nearly $1.2 billion is from outside the US. Asia would be the fastest growing region outside the US.
What is your outlook on the Indian market, given India’s thrust on financial inclusion?
Financial inclusion is very important for India, and FIS is happy to be playing a part. We just launched a financial inclusion lab in Bengaluru. Now that we have 11 charters announced on the payments banks side, we want to grow our business in India. We are committed to India as a market and we plan to engage with the new charters, and also the small finance banks.