Outsourcing is in

Banks are increasingly outsourcing many of their technological services. Transferring such functions as item processing and electronic funds transfer processing provides banks with many benefits, including scale economies, technological expertise, lower costs and product differentiation. However, banks contemplating the outsourcing of certain services should carefully consider the pros and cons of doing so, since pulling out of an outsourcing contract can be very expensive. Examples of banks that have parlayed outsourcing into a banking strength include Rock Savings Bank in Wisconsin, which uses an imaging service provided by FIServ for its check processing system, and Lone Star Bank in Texas, which hired Affiliated Computer Services to develop a geocoded mapping service for pinpointing loans in compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act.
When, where, how, and which services to outsource can be as mind boggling as sorting through the theory of relativity. According to consultants, there are at least 18 technological services [...]