Fidelity National Information Services Inc. announced Friday that its Brazilian joint venture with Banco Bradesco SA has entered a 10-year deal to provide processing and other services for the banking company.
Separately, Banco Bradesco has increased its ownership in the venture, Fidelity Processadora e Servicios SA, to 49%. As part of that arrangement, Banco Santander gave up its stake in the venture; Fidelity National's 51% ownership of FPS is unchanged.
A binding memorandum of understanding and other agreements said FPS would supply processing, call center, collection and back-office services for Banco Bradesco's 14 million cards during the next 10 years. When the conversion of Bradesco's card portfolio is completed in the fourth quarter, FPS will handle processing for 40 million cards altogether across all of its clients.
"This expanded relationship with Banco Bradesco provides us with a significant opportunity to cultivate more business in a region poised for continued growth," Gary Norcross, Fidelity National's chief operating officer, said in a press release. In Brazil, "the market remains underpenetrated, providing FIS with a chance to further advance our position in the Brazilian card industry," Norcross said.
Arnaldo Vieira, a Banco Bradesco executive vice president, said: "We anticipate improvement in the time to market and product availability" through these deals, "which will enable us to become more competitive."
FPS was formed in March 2006, originally as a venture of Fidelity National, Banco Bradesco and Banco ABN Amro Real, a unit of ABN Amro Holding NV. Santander took over Banco Real in 2008.
