Raiffeisen Banking Group and Banking Technology Partner SDS Announce Joint Future Plans

The Raiffeisen Banking Group and SDS announce the signing of a multi-year cooperation agreement. The Austrian Raiffeisen Banking Group is the country's largest banking group with the most intricate network of banks and around 2.8 million retail customers in Austria. Through Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), the group is represented in 13 markets in Central and Eastern Europe. The Austrian company SDS (Software Daten Service) is one of the leading providers of modern banking technologies in securities processing tax and compliance automation, as well as associated services in Europe. Through its owner T-Systems International, it is part of Deutsche Telekom AG.

The two companies can look back at a long and successful cooperative history. Before SDS was taken over by T-Systems International in 2004, SDS, with its flagship product SDS GEOS, was owned by RZB (Raiffeisen Zentralbank) for 11 years, which itself took over the banking software provider from Schöllerbank in 1993. During this partnership of almost 30 years, the company developed one of the most competitive solutions for automated securities and derivative processing in Europe in the form of SDS GEOS. It also established a comprehensive portfolio of internationally successful support products for tax regulation or securities compliance and a software testing division that is strongly sought after in German-speaking countries, including companies outside the banking sector.

Through the specialised subsidiaries and associated companies of the Raiffeisen Banking Group, it is possible to meet the individual needs of each customer group and to provide an all-round financial service "under one roof". For example, RBI in Austria is specialised on commercial banking and investment banking business and advises the country's top 1,000 companies as a corporate finance bank and a bank for export financing. The all-round financial service of the Raiffeisen banking group also includes financial services of Raiffeisen specialist companies such as the investment company Raiffeisen Capital Management, Raiffeisen Versicherung, Raiffeisen-Leasing or Raiffeisen Bausparkasse.

The Raiffeisen Banking Group can count on a strong, reliable, and innovative technology partner not only because of its great international market success but also to ensure future competitiveness in light of the dynamic changes in international banking. These changes are driven by growing market and consumer digitalisation, the demand for and use of artificial intelligence, disruptive market participants, and the highest efficiency and response requirements, to mention only the most important of the current challenges.

SDS Managing Director Ernst Kendlbacher comments: "We are in the middle of a digital revolution in the banking sector. Innovations in terms of creating new processes and adapting to new technologies are essential for a healthy future. Raiffeisen will continue to purchase SDS products on a large scale in the future, thus further demonstrating its confidence in our portfolio. The new contract also includes all relevant security and regulatory requirements for the Raiffeisen group. A great success for both contract partners." Edzard Janssen, Head of Group Procurement, Outsourcing, and Cost Management of Raiffeisen Bank International AG adds: "In order to be sustainably successful in competition, it is important to work with professional and innovative partners."