The banking software maker has announced that it will provide its software-as-a-service solution to the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), one of the country’s biggest banks in terms of capitalization.

Avaloq will help BPI improve customer experience and boost the efficiency of five of its business units and subsidiaries, ranging from private banking to asset management and investment banking, with its cloud banking software, the Zurich-headquartered firm announced in a statement on Tuesday.

Founded in 1851, BPI is the first bank in Southeast Asia and the Philippines’ fourth-largest banking group by assets, with PHP2.21 trillion ($43.4 billion) in total assets for FY2019, up 5.7 percent year-on-year. It is currently on the second phase of a multi-year digital transformation program, and experiencing strong demand for its digital channels.

«Ambitious Plans»

«We have ambitious plans in growing our presence in the Philippines and want to make ourselves present and relevant to the needs of domestic onshore banks in the market,» Pascal Foehn, Avaloq Executive Board Sponsor for Asia and Avaloq Group COO, told finews.asia.

«We have a large number of projects going on in Asia and while we are focused on supporting our existing customers, we’re also always on the lookout for increasing our market share,» Foehn said.

Avaloq already has a large operating presence in the country, with around 300 staff in two offices, including one of its three global research and development centers, who support its wider regional presence.

 Rapid Asian Growth

While BPI is the first client that Avaloq has in the Philippines, the firm has had a presence in Asia for over a decade, and has been rapidly expanding over the past 18 months, with a number of new or expanded deals in other Asian markets, including Maybank Premier in Singapore, and Indonesia's largest banking group Mandiri.

Avaloq also has contracts with DBS Bank and Kasikorn Bank, as well as Agricultural Bank of China, China Industrial Bank and CITIC Bank International.

The firm also recently launched Avaloq.one, a B2B marketplace for fintechs to integrate their solutions directly on Avaloq’s platform through standard open APIs.

Deutsche Bank Renews Contract 

In April, Avaloq announced the extension of its wealth management contract with Deutsche Bank in six countries until 2028.

The contract covers the German lender's wealth management business in Switzerland, Luxembourg, the U.K., Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Hong Kong.