ICBC Argentina Strikes a $63M Services Agreement with IBM to Reimagine Customer Services in Argentinian Banking Industry with AI and Cloud

SAN FRANCISCO and BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Feb. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ICBC Argentina, subsidiary of the largest bank in the world, with 119 branches, serving 1,000,000 households, is a key player in the modernization of financial services in Argentina. The bank is committed to continuing its digital transformation journey with a five-year US $63 million agreement with IBM (NYSE: IBM) Services.

As part of the agreement, ICBC Argentina is redefining the Bank's customer experience with IBM AI and Cloud, which will allow the bank to improve response time by predicting 75% of specific system failures, understand online user behavior and preferences in its home banking platform, reduce up to 30% of client queries through online services powered by Watson, and innovating in personalized experiences by driving the convergence between physical and digital branches.

"Over the last five years, ICBC Argentina has continued to grow after establishing in the country, driven by the constant improvement of our clients' experience and an accelerated innovation process that we implemented together with IBM," said Guillermo Tolosa, CIO of the bank. "Working with IBM Services allows us to focus on our business strengths and leverage IBM's experience in Artificial Intelligence, Cloud and Services with open and secure standards, to consolidate our growth and offer customers an easy, accessible and convenient experience, while at the same time complying with the needs of our highly regulated industry."

Banks are faced with changing consumer behaviors and expectations, in areas such as real-time banking, mobile services and access to a more complete view of their finances. To address customers' expectations, ICBC Argentina has undertaken a plan designed to accelerate its digital transformation for more personalized banking experience. In doing so, ICBC's clients will be able to more quickly review their finances, conduct transactions and inquire about additional services without ever having to walk into a branch.

"ICBC is accelerating its transformation with cutting-edge technology to take a step forward in the disruption of the banking industry in Argentina", says Roberto Alexander, Country Manager of IBM Argentina. "IBM and ICBC will continue creating innovative solutions, providing deeper insight into its clients' behaviors, enabling them to make smore informed decisions with information, and launch products and services faster."

IBM will also continue managing the bank's infrastructure, which will help accelerate the bank's digital transformation plan as well as to boost innovation and improve operational efficiency through and IBM Cloud Public credits and upgraded capabilities of its IBM Mainframe z14 technology.

About ICBC Argentina

ICBC Argentina is a universal bank that provides financial services through 119 branches and 877 ATMs and Self-Service Terminals in 18 provinces and more than 3700 employees. It serves 1,000,000 households, 40,700 SMEs and businesses, and 1,821 corporate clients. It is one of the market leaders in pledge loans, electronic banking, leasing and foreign trade. It has more than 4,900 million dollars in assets and 2,500 million dollars in deposits, ranking among the 7 first private banks in Argentina in both rankings.

Web: www.icbc.com.ar 
Twitter: @ICBCArgentina
Instagram: @icbc.argentina
Facebook: /ICBCArgentina 
LinkedIn: /icbc-argentina

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SOURCE IBM

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