JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Building on an 18-year trusted partner relationship, FIS™ (NYSE: FIS), the world’s largest provider of banking and payments technology, today announced it has entered into a seven-year agreement with FirstBank Puerto Rico to assume full on-site operational responsibility for the bank’s IT operations and staff. A leading global provider of outsourcing solutions, this new deal is the first of its kind for FIS in the Caribbean.
With more than 40 years’ experience in the financial services marketplace, FIS delivers a complete set of outsourcing services that can be tailored to meet the individual needs of financial institutions. Under the terms of this multi-year agreement, FIS will assume operational control of FirstBank Puerto Rico’s IT operations including hardware and software upgrades, application management, skilled operations personnel, help desk and desktop services. The resulting environment will enable the bank to realize lower operating costs, greater operational efficiencies and full regulatory compliance. The bank will also have access to FIS’ portfolio of industry-leading solutions which will provide top-tier system functionality and assist the bank’s growth strategy as it launches new products and services.
“Our extended relationship with FIS enables us to take advantage of their expertise in managing complex IT infrastructures while ensuring that the technology continues to deliver the results we need for the customers we serve,” said Aurelio Alemán, president and CEO of FirstBank Puerto Rico. “At FirstBank Puerto Rico, we strive to focus on initiatives that deliver value to our customers.”
According to research firm Celent, financial institutions spend more than 77% of their budgets on maintenance and while this figure is expected to fall marginally in 2015, it will still remain above 75%.
“The hard dollar costs and regulatory burdens of maintaining a complex IT environment are driving more institutions to take a closer look at how they manage their IT systems and budgets,” said Mark Davey, executive vice president, FIS International Solutions Group. “At FIS, we’re delivering innovative options that enable institutions to delegate these responsibilities without impacting the delivery commitments to their customers. We’re excited to leverage our trusted relationship with FirstBank Puerto Rico to deliver improved technology operations and believe it creates the foundation that other banks in the region can successfully leverage to address similar challenges.”
About First BanCorp
First BanCorp. is the parent corporation of FirstBank, a state-chartered commercial bank with operations in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Florida, and of FirstBank Insurance Agency. First BanCorp. and FirstBank operate within U.S. banking laws and regulations. The Corporation operates a total of 154 branches, stand-alone offices, and in-branch service centers throughout Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and Florida. Among the subsidiaries of FirstBank are First Federal Finance Corp., a small loan company; FirstBank Puerto Rico Securities Corp., a broker-dealer subsidiary; First Management of Puerto Rico; and FirstMortgage, Inc., a mortgage origination company. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, FirstBank operates First Express, a small loan company. First BanCorp’s Common Stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “FBP.”
FIS (NYSE: FIS) is the world’s largest global provider dedicated to banking and payments technologies. With a long history deeply rooted in the financial services sector, FIS serves more than 14,000 institutions in over 100 countries. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., FIS employs more than 35,000 people worldwide and holds leadership positions in payment processing and banking solutions, providing software, services and outsourcing of the technology that drives financial institutions. First in financial technology, FIS tops the annual FinTech 100 list, is 425 on the Fortune 500 and is a member of Standard & Poor’s 500® Index. For more information about FIS, visit www.fisglobal.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. Because such statements are based on expectations as to future economic performance and are not statements of fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The risks and uncertainties which forward-looking statements are subject to include, but are not limited to: changes in general economic, business and political conditions and other risks detailed in the “Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information,” “Risk Factors” and other sections of the Company’s Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.