Global IT leaders, HCL and CSC today announced the signing of a definitive joint venture agreement to form a banking software and services company. The joint venture will invest in platform modernization and product functionality enhancement and will capitalize on the proven capabilities of both companies in addressing the multi-billion-dollar, global core banking software market.

CSC, which currently serves over 100 premier banking and financial services clients in 15 countries, will provide its core banking, cards, payments and default management industry talent, software and product development expertise.

HCL will provide capital investment, extensive experience in product engineering and application implementation services, as well as banking sales and client engagement expertise.

The benefits and capabilities of the new company include strengthening ongoing support for existing banking clients, reaffirming the commitment to enhance and expand CSC's core banking and cards platforms and advancing digital banking transformation solutions.

'The banking industry is taking bold steps toward cloud deployments and digital integration with surrounding applications and platforms,' said Anant Gupta, president & CEO, HCL Technologies. 'Many of our banking clients are looking for modernization of their legacy platforms while simultaneously managing the increasing demands for data analytics services, multi-channel deployments, and increasing regulatory compliance requirements.'

'The joint entity with CSC is designed to meet those critical demands with new and innovative solutions and to expedite the modernization transformation journey of our banking clients,' he said.

Shares of the company declined Rs 10.15, or 1.03%, to settle at Rs 971.65. The total volume of shares traded was 56,406 at the BSE (Thursday).