Milan, 27 October 2022 – BPER Banca Group, the third largest banking group in Italy, has signed with IBM (NYSE: IBM) a four-year agreement to help accelerate the bank’s evolution into a truly digital business.

The four-year agreement will expand the bank's hybrid cloud strategy to modernize its technology infrastructure and applications, combining the security, scalability and reliability of IBM Cloud for Financial Services to help meet the compliance requirements of the heavily regulated industry with the resiliency of IBM z16 and Red Hat OpenShift, a leading Kubernetes platform. As security and privacy remain paramount for financial institutions, this highly secured hybrid cloud environment will allow the bank to manage mission critical data, services and workflows across multiple platforms to improve operational efficiency and drive innovation.

“Innovation and digitalization are two of the main priorities on which BPER Banca is focusing,” said Elvio Sonnino, Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of BPER Banca. “The banking sector is undergoing rapid transformation and the benefits and potentials that emerge today from the dynamics of technological innovation are very wide. The collaboration with IBM will allow us to carry out an important technological upgrade, to achieve greater synergy of processes and to expand the offer of quality omnichannel services, to respond even more effectively to the ever-increasing needs of customers ".

IBM Consulting worked closely with BPER Banca Group and provided the expertise and capabilities to design the modernization strategy that will now support the banking group’s strategic growth plan for 2022-2025 called ‘BPER e-volution’. The banking group is evolving its business model to prepare for a digital future alongside a focus on ESG and the integration of its latest acquisition - Italian bank Banca Carige.

IBM Consulting will now provide additional services and deep skills to help modernize and manage the banking group’s core banking systems and applications in an open, secured way to facilitate compliance with industry regulations. This includes incorporating the built-in security and  compliance  controls from IBM Cloud for Financial Services to help companies address regulatory barriers impeding IT landscape and application modernization and reduce third- and fourth- party risk throughout the supply chain.

To meet the needs of digitally savvy customers, AI-powered software capabilities will be incorporated to develop personalized digital services across multiple channels in a fast and secured way. This allows Gruppo BPER to unlock new value by expanding the volume of digital products sold via automated journeys, creating better omnichannel experiences for customers.

Pictured: Stefano Rebattoni, General Manager IBM Italy; Elvio Sonnino, Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of BPER Banca

“IBM will support BPER Banca as it accelerates its strategic growth path with open, secured technologies to both modernize and innovate – helping the business to deliver faster, seamless, and compliant digital banking experiences," said Stefano Rebattoni, General Manager IBM Italy. “The modernization strategy will combine an expanded hybrid cloud approach with new software capabilities boosted by artificial intelligence, built and managed with IBM’s deep industry expertise to help BPER Banca achieve its transformation goals and improve customer experience.”

About IBM

IBM is a leading global provider of hybrid cloud, AI and consulting services and helps enterprises in more than 175 countries get the most out of data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and be competitive in their respective industries. Nearly 3,800 organizations, including government agencies and enterprises, operating in strategic infrastructure areas, such as financial services, telecommunications, and healthcare, rely on IBM and Red Hat OpenShift's hybrid cloud platform to realize their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions, and consulting services offer open and flexible options available to all types of organizations. This is underpinned by IBM's commitment to the values of trust, transparency, accountability, inclusiveness, and customer service. For more information, www.ibm.com.

BPER Banca

BPER Banca is the parent company of Gruppo BPER Banca, which gathers three territorial banks (BPER Banca, Banco di Sardegna and Banca Carige) for about 2,100 branches covering almost all Italian regions, with more than 21 thousand employees and more than 5 million customers.

The third largest banking group in Italy in terms of total deposits and number of branches, it comprises not only credit institutions but also numerous product and instrumental companies.

BPER Banca's distribution structure on the peninsula today comprises 9 Departments.

BPER Banca operates through investee companies or joint ventures in all the main market segments (corporate & investment banking, wealth management & insurance, leasing, factoring and consumer credit) and is able to offer, thanks to a solid network of shareholdings and partnerships, qualified assistance to its customers on all the main international markets.

Media relations references:

External Relations BPER Banca
Gilberto Borghi
relest@bper.it

External Relations IBM Italy
Claudia Ruffini
cla@it.ibm.com