CBA plants Indian bank IT seeds

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has launched a new Indian banking platform built and managed by Tata Consultancy Services.

Tata's BaNCS platform, which includes network services and managed infrastructure, will support CBA's first Indian branch in Mumbai and deliver trade finance, remittance and foreign exchange services between Indian and Australian organisations.

The bank sought a swift launch for its Indian services, according to David Boyle, chief information officer of CBA's international financial services.

"CBA was looking for an India-ready IT solution that could be delivered quickly in a country where CBA had no existing IT team," said Boyle.

"Our partnership with Tata has enabled us to launch quickly."

According to a statement by Tata, CBA had waited two months before announcing its India-ready platform.

The bank obtained its Indian banking license in mid-2009 and opened its first branch this August.

CBA's dealings with Tata go back to 2007 after the bank broke up a wholesale outsourcing contract that had been held by EDS (now HP services) for almost a decade.

The bank placed its high-value application development work under a contestable panel that included IBM, HCL and Tata.

A year later Tata had secured a limited role on CBA's Accenture-led SAP core banking system replacement.