IBM will work with Serveis Informatics la Caixa (Silk) to manage the EUR2 billion budget in an alliance expected to save EUR400 million for the bank over the term of the agreement.

Around half of the money will go to IBM for a range of technology, operations, applications and infrastructure services, and the management of data processing centres. The rest of the budget will be used on third-party providers.

The deal also covers collaboration between the la Caixa Innovation Centre in Barcelona and IBM´s research centres, helping the bank push ahead in key areas such as mobility, social media and cloud computing.

Juan Maria Nin, la Caixa general manager, says: "This agreement allows us to offer better services to our clients and obtain competitive advantages in a sector in which innovation and new technologies are key to realizing growth."

The deal builds on a 50-year relationship between the two companies and follows a five-year, EUR200 million contract in 2005.