Cognizant (NASDAQ:CTSH), a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services, today announced it has been selected by the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) to be a key supplier as part of its Strategic Outsourcing Framework Agreement (SOFA).
The FSA is a leading independent body that regulates the financial services industry in the UK and oversees more than 29,000 firms, which contribute over 6.8% of GDP, employ more than 1.1 million people, and provide services to millions of consumers.
SOFA is important to the FSA's ability to deliver on its statutory objectives and more proactively intervene when a firm's actions pose potential systemic risk. The agreement enables the FSA to develop relationships with key third-party suppliers, enhance the scope of services it outsources and ensure greater value for money.
As a key supplier, Cognizant will aim to help the FSA improve the reliability, scalability and flexibility of the IT systems and solutions that support the FSA's market surveillance operations, supervisory analysis and risk management functions. Cognizant has been awarded five service areas, covering solutions consultancy, application development, application maintenance, testing, and web design and hosting and will initially support a key market surveillance application used by the FSA to monitor compliance with the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).
"We are pleased to be selected as a key supplier by the FSA for a comprehensive range of services," said Tony Virdi, Vice President of Cognizant's Banking and Financial Services Practice for the UK and Ireland. "We are committed to leveraging our strong understanding of the financial services industry and regulatory environment in the UK and consultative engagement model to help the FSA streamline processes, minimize operating costs, enhance productivity and address the need for greater efficiency, innovation and collaboration."