EDS has ratified an agreement with UK lender Abbey National to create the UK's largest third party mortgage administrator. Under the terms of the ten year deal, EDS will receive £390 million from the bank to provide business process management services to the new venture.
From an initial base of Abbey National's two million accounts, the partners have set their sights on becoming the largest mortgage service provider in Europe.
EDS Credit Services is actively marketing the venture's capabilities to other UK banks and financial services institutions initially. In the UK alone, lenders today service over 11 million mortgage accounts.
"This venture is designed to take full advantage of EDS' global capabilities and the depth and experience of the Abbey National staff," says Michael Hyman, business development director in EDS' Europe, Middle East and Africa region. "No matter where they are located, lenders will be able to concentrate on their real business of managing risk - while still retaining vital customer relationships and improving their ability to attract new customers."
Abbey National expects to save approximately $130 million over the 10-year life of the agreement. More than 1500 Abbey National employees, based at customer service sites and data centers around the UK, will become part of the new venture.
Abbey National is the second largest mortgage provider in the UK with 1.5 million mortgage accounts and a 13 percent share of the UK mortgage market.
In a seperate announcement, EDS says it has won a two-year contract with the Board of the Austrian Insurance agencies to provide 8 million Austrian citizens with social security smart cards by the middle of 2003.