TSB Takes IT In-house After Migration Meltdown

Dominique Adams

01 April 2019, 03.02pm

TSB says the move will give it “closer control” over its technology, including changing the way the bank contracts and work with Sabis and other technology suppliers.

TSB is taking back control of its IT systems from its Spanish owner Sabadell after last year’s disastrous IT migration.

TSB has spent the past year trying to resolve the consequences of its bungled IT migration, which cost the bank £300 million, and saw its CEO, Paul Pester, fired from his job.

As a result of the IT meltdown, the bank’s systems were down for nearly a week, with customers unable to access their accounts and falling prey to scams for months after.

The announcement comes amid speculation about the bank’s relationship with its owner Banco Sabadell, the fifth largest banking group in Spain.

TSB’s original plan was to migrate its data on 5 million-plus customers and 1.3 billion records to a new platform, Proteo4UK, which was developed and operated by Sabis, an IT subsidiary of Sabadell.

However, it swiftly became clear the process had gone badly wrong, and the bank scrambled unsuccessfully to manage the situation.

The bank says that the bulk of fixes are now complete, and it will take direct ownership of its IT estate, including contractual relationships with third party technology suppliers.

In a statement, TSB said it would shift its focus to “optimising the Proteo4 platform for the future”. Mike Errington has been appointed as CIO for the firm.

Errington, who has been working with TSB for the past three months, will take full control of the bank’s tech platform and is briefed to create new technology capability within TSB.

“A key part of this is having closer control over our technology in TSB, including changing the way we contract and work with Sabis and other technology suppliers,” it said in a statement.

“In the coming months, we will take direct ownership of our banking platform, including direct contractual relationships with the third party technology suppliers.”

The proposed IT changes are part of the TSB’s wider plan to reinvigorate the bank, which includes a reduction in high street branches, possible voluntary layoffs, early retirements or moving people into new sales roles.