Amit Tripathi

Mumbai: In a move that strengthens its capabilities in the banking, financial services and insurance segment, homegrown HCL Technologies has acquired US-based Capital Stream, a provider of IT solutions for lending and straight-through processing for commercial banks and finance companies.

The acquisition is an all-cash deal worth about $40 million (~Rs160 crore).

Ram Krishnan, corporate vicepresident at HCL Technologies, told DNA Money, “Financial lending has always been our focus and we have been trying to acquire capabilities to provide solutions in the commercial lending processes. This acquisition provides us that capability.”

HCL automatically gets about 35 customers of Capital Stream, including Bank of America, Bank of Canada, etc.

It is looking to extend this capability for its customer companies in other geographic regions as well. In terms of IT solutions and services, the addressable market for commercial lending is $1.3 billion, Prem Kumar, a corporate officer and global head, financial services, at HCL Technologies said. In Q3 2008, financial services contributed 28% to HCL Technologies’ revenue.

The company already provides solutions and support for retail and corporate banking, capital markets and insurance. It also manages risk for its clients and help them comply with regulations.

Source : DNA