Core systems

FIS and merger partner SunGard, along with all other vendors in the space, have not been able to come to market with innovative core systems or software platforms that adequately address the new digital paradigm banks face.

The $9.1 billion acquisition of SunGard Data Systems would deepen FIS' bench in banking and asset management services and add products for capital markets, dovetailing with banks' desire to narrow the list of companies that serve them.

Community Trust in Ruston, La., took the rare step of replacing its hodgepodge legacy core system. The move should cut processing costs in half. In the meantime, the bank's taking a lot of calls from confused customers.

They're not ready to go all-in by putting core processing in the cloud, but community banks are experimenting with hybrid and quasi-cloud arrangements that offer low costs and rapid deployment.

A deal between two major fintech players to provide core processing hosted in the cloud raises the question of when U.S. banks will feel comfortable putting their most important data on publicly shared computers.