AUSTIN, Texas–An alliance of financial institutions that was formed to consolidate the buying power of its member FIs and to fight the “vendor oligarchy” said it has been contacted by more than 165 institutions in its first 30 days of existence.
The Golden Contract Coalition, which has both community banks and credit unions as its members, said it “aims to level the negotiation playing field by creating a fair, standard agreement between community institutions and their core and IT vendors—exclusively available to its members.”
“Since launching, the alliance has been inundated with interest from banks and credit unions from across the country looking to secure membership,” the organization said.
In a statement, Aaron Silva, founder of GCC, said, "We’re issuing agreements as fast as membership requests are coming, in order to keep up with demand. We’re way ahead of schedule in terms of the recruitment goals we outlined for our first 30 days, and expect our numbers to continue escalating as more bank leaders—frustrated with the status quo—are willing to stand up against the core and IT vendor oligopoly in the fight for fair contracts and competitive pricing."
According to the GCC, the group of interested banks and credit unions holds an estimated $186 billion in cumulative assets, or a combined monthly income to Fiserv, FIS or Jack Henry exceeding $25 million per month.
“This translates to more than $1.45 billion in buying leverage for coalition members when you consider the five-year value of these agreements,” the GCC said.
The Golden Contract Coalition said it puts the power into the allied hands of institutions “prepared to challenge the vendor oligopoly, and end the era of underperforming IT functionality, unenforceable SLAs, unfavorable contract terms and overpriced, one-sided deals.”
It said in the next several weeks it will be announcing key “partner advocates” from industry-leading companies and professional service firms who are interested in contributing to its mission to help its community banking clients secure fairer deals and higher service levels from their core and IT suppliers.