7th Nov 2018 12:45
LONDON (Alliance News) - Lloyds Banking Group PLC said Wednesday it has invested GBP11 million in fintech company Thought Machine as part of a plan to accelerate the bank's "digital transformation".
The investment gives Lloyds a 10% stake in the fintech company, whose core product Vault is a cloud-based banking platform. Thought Machine believes Vault will "simplify the technical and operational complexity of banking".
Lloyds has completed extensive testing and proofs of concept with Vault and hopes to enter into a development and deployment phase in 2019.
The FTSE 100-listed lender expects Vault to provide customers with "more tailored products" and enable faster development cycles and further digital banking improvements.
"A key part of our recently launched three-year strategic plan is applying technology innovation to meet our customers' evolving needs," said Zak Mian, Lloyds director of transformation.
Lloyds investment was part of a Series A GBP18 million investment round for Thought Machine.
On Monday, Sky News reported Lloyds will create 8,000 new jobs focused on areas of digital expansion, in particular within the bank's transformation division, which focuses on developing digital products that "reinvent the boundaries of banking".
The new jobs are part of the GBP3 billion three-year reorganisation plan announced in February aimed at digitizing the bank's infrastructure. The bank also has separately announced around 6,000 job cuts.
Under the restructuring plan, Lloyds aims to enhance its customer experience, further digitise the group and maximise its capabilities.
Shares in Lloyds were up 1.2% Wednesday at 58.38 pence each.
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