Bermuda’s Leading Bank Achieves 20% TCO Reduction via Digital Transformation

Industry: Retail & Consumer Packaged Goods | Services: Automation

Client Overview

The client is one of Bermuda’s oldest and most prestigious banking and financial services institutions. Facing challenges due to Bermuda’s tight labor market and resource limitations, the bank relied on its parent for staffing, which led to service inefficiencies, customer satisfaction issues, and elevated operational costs.

The Challenge

Talent Gaps and Antiquated Systems Were Holding Back Growth

The bank grappled with limited access to local talent, high cost-to-income ratios (above 70%), and suboptimal customer NPS—all exacerbated by aging systems across core banking, data analytics, and reporting. It needed comprehensive improvements across operations, compliance, finance, loans, and analytics—all while reining in costs.

Sutherland Solution

Holistic Digital Modernization Through Managed Services, Automation, and Analytics

Sutherland partnered with the bank on a multi-year transformation journey and implemented a strategic approach to address their challenges.

Initially, Sutherland leveraged its digital consulting capabilities to identify opportunities, develop a roadmap for transformation, and create a managed services model. This included transforming multiple processes, including finance and accounting, commercial underwriting, KYC screening, chargeback management, consumer lending underwriting, lending risk management, loan and CASA onboarding, transaction alert handling, and investment operations.

The multi-year transformation included:

1. Mapping a phased digital transformation roadmap
2. Transitioning 50+ roles to its Banking & Financial Services and Digital Engineering teams
3. Introducing Lean and Six Sigma process improvements
4. Deploying intelligent automation in lending underwriting, KYC, chargeback handling, and onboarding
5. Building key modern infrastructure: data lakes, PowerBI reporting, cloud security, and analytics
6. Embedding robust IT governance, risk, compliance, and IT service delivery frameworks using a TCO model with outcome commitments

The Outcome

Digital Execution Delivers Efficiency, Service Quality, and Future-ready Infrastructure

The transformation delivered a 20% reduction in TCO, brought operational excellence through automation and modernized technologies, and established a scalable foundation via managed services. The bank is now well-positioned for sustained operational improvement, customer satisfaction gains, and ongoing transformation initiatives.