Accenture wins contract at world's oldest bank

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the oldest bank in the world*, has decided to outsource a large part of its back-office operations to Accenture and Bassilichi. With the mega outsourcing agreement, the Italian bank aims at reducing its operating costs, implementing a business partners model and boost service levels. As part of the agreement, approximately 1,100 Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena employees will transition to the two service providers.

Accenture is a global consulting, technology and outsourcing company, with more than 275,000 employees in more than 120 countries. Bassilichi is one of Italy's largest players in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) market.

The outsourcing agreement, which has runtime of 18 years, includes a large part of its financial back-office operations, including finance and accounting and administration. The transaction is still subject to regulatory approvals and the completion of union consultations.

In order to service Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Accenture and Bassilichi have setup a Joint Venture (JV), 60% owned by Bassilichi and 40% owned by Accenture. The JV will combine Accenture's management and IT expertise with the deep outsourcing knowledge of the Italian-based partner. The JV will be fully operational in January 2014 and start servicing the bank in the same month.

"By taking a new approach to back-office operations, using a combination of digital technologies and improved use of talent and expertise, Monte dei Paschi di Siena can gain more sustainable efficiencies and higher quality services" says Fabio Benasso, Country Managing Director for Accenture in Italy.

* De Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena is founded in 1472 by the Republic if Siena, the ruling regional government at that time. The main seat has been rooted in the Palazzo Salimbeni on the similarly named piazza in the Italian city Siena (Toscane).  The bank currently services 6 million clients and has 33.000 employees.