TOKYO, Feb. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Mizuho
Financial Group (NYSE: MFG, TYO: 8411), one of the largest
financial institutions in the world, and Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH),
a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and
business process outsourcing services, today announced a strategic
agreement to develop a blockchain solution for secure
record-keeping of documents among Mizuho Financial Group companies
around the world.
This agreement marks the beginning of a strategic program at
Mizuho to leverage blockchain technology for building new work
processes to make transactions and digital interactions more
secure, transparent, efficient and cost-effective, thereby
delivering superior experience to customers.
As part of the agreement, Cognizant will bring together its
extensive financial services, consulting and digital technology
expertise to design and develop a blockchain solution for Mizuho's
customers, counterparties, and group companies to exchange and sign
sensitive documents in a secure and transparent manner, resulting
in faster, more efficient processing and multi-party verification.
This engagement will initially focus on New York and Tokyo, where most Mizuho group companies are
based.
Cognizant has been making focused investments to strengthen its
blockchain capabilities, develop innovative digital frameworks and
prototypes to harness distributed ledgers, and build a world-class
alliance ecosystem. The company is collaborating with some of the
world's leading financial services organizations to help them
embrace blockchain technology.
"We are pleased to be among the early adopters of blockchain
technology in Japan to make our
processes and workflows faster and more efficient," said
Toshitsugu Okabe, Deputy President
and Executive Officer of Mizuho Financial Group. "The global domain
and technology expertise of Cognizant will complement our vision
and reinforce our reputation as the most trusted financial services
group. We are impressed with Cognizant's blockchain-based solutions
for financial services organizations, and their sharp focus on this
rapidly evolving technology."
"Blockchain technology is a game-changer for the financial
services industry," said Prasad
Chintamaneni, President, Banking and Financial Services,
Cognizant. "We continue to invest in our blockchain capabilities
and are going beyond cryptocurrencies into newer areas such as
smart contracts and P2P transactions. This agreement will pave the
way for increased adoption of Blockchain technology at Mizuho
Financial Group to minimize counterparty risks, speed up
settlements, improve contractual performance, and enhance
regulatory reporting."
About Mizuho Financial Group
The Mizuho Financial Group is one of the largest financial
institutions in the world, offering a broad range of services
including banking, trust banking and securities, and other business
related to financial services through its group companies. The
group has approximately 55,000 staff working in approximately 900
offices inside and outside Japan,
and total assets of over US $1.5
trillion (as of March, 2015). Under the umbrella of the
holding company Mizuho Financial Group, our major group companies
include Mizuho Bank (MHBK), Mizuho
Trust & Banking (MHTB) and Mizuho Securities (MHSC). Visit us
online at www.mizuho-fg.co.jp.
About Cognizant
Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of information
technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services,
dedicated to helping the world's leading companies build stronger
businesses. Headquartered in Teaneck, New
Jersey (U.S.), Cognizant combines a passion for client
satisfaction, technology innovation, deep industry and business
process expertise, and a global, collaborative workforce that
embodies the future of work. With over 100 development and delivery
centers worldwide and approximately 221,700 employees as of
December 31, 2015, Cognizant is a
member of the NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes Global 2000,
and the Fortune 500 and is ranked among the top performing and
fastest growing companies in the world. Visit us online at
www.cognizant.com or follow us on Twitter: Cognizant.
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SOURCE Cognizant