A London-based bank—subsidiary of a large African financial institution—was undergoing a change in control following its acquisition by a major UK business conglomerate. The acquisition aimed to unlock growth opportunities in Trade Finance by serving the conglomerate’s portfolio companies and their clients.
However, years of underinvestment had left the UK subsidiary with legacy technology platforms that were no longer fit for purpose. These systems posed material operational, cybersecurity, and business continuity risks, and constrained the bank’s ability to scale or expand into new lines of business.
A comprehensive technology refresh was identified as a critical pillar of the broader business transformation program required to support the new ownership structure and growth ambitions.
Ximpal Group was engaged to work directly with executive leadership to frame and execute this technology transformation.
The Challenge
- Legacy, high-risk technology platforms unsuitable for future business needs
- Imminent change in control requiring clarity, speed, and execution discipline
- Need for a modular, phased technology migration to reduce risk
- Desire to leverage cloud, fintech solutions, and managed services
- Requirement to support both existing operations and potential future business models
- Complex stakeholder landscape spanning executive leadership and multiple functional domains
The client needed a trusted partner capable of operating at the C-suite level, aligning business vision, technology strategy, and execution under tight timelines.
Ximpal Group’s Approach
Ximpal Group delivered an integrated engagement combining Technology & Infrastructure Strategy, Program & Portfolio Management, and Change Management to ensure both rigor and momentum.
Our approach consisted of four tightly integrated workstreams:
1. Executive Alignment & Transformation Framing
We worked directly with the CEO, COO, and CIO to establish a future-state business and technology vision aligned to the bank’s post-acquisition strategy. This ensured technology decisions were driven by business outcomes, not just system replacement.
2. Future-State Requirements Definition
We engaged Heads of Function across Finance, Treasury, Sales, Operations, Trade Finance, Risk Management, Regulatory Reporting, and Compliance to define future-state business requirements. These requirements were consolidated into a comprehensive Business Requirements Document (BRD).
3. Vendor Shortlisting & RFP Execution
Potential technology vendors were evaluated against defined pre-qualification criteria, and a shortlist was established. We translated the BRD into a detailed Request for Proposal (RFP) and managed the end-to-end competitive tender process, including vendor briefings, response evaluation, and comparative assessment.
4. Business Process Documentation & Readiness
In parallel, we documented all “as-is” business processes across the bank to support future business process redesign and ensure operational readiness for new technology implementation. Change management considerations were embedded throughout to support stakeholder alignment and adoption.
Results & Impact
By the time the bank executed its formal change in control, it was positioned to move forward with confidence.
Key outcomes included:
- Selection-ready positioning for a new core technology vendor
- A clearly articulated future-state business and technology vision
- Accelerated readiness for technology refresh execution
- Reduced operational, cybersecurity, and continuity risk exposure
- A structured foundation for phased migration and future business expansion
The holistic, parallel approach to business visioning, requirements definition, and vendor selection enabled the bank to expedite its transformation timeline while maintaining governance and executive confidence.