(18 March 2005 – Asia) British banks are set to move thousands more back office jobs to cheaper offshore centres in India and Asia over the next few years.HSBC announced it plans to shed back office jobs in its Europe and US operations and double the number currently employed in Asia.
The bank said it will establish more than 15 offshore centres containing some 25,000 employees within three years. It currently has 13,000 staff in 10 centres in the Asia region, most of whom are providing administration and telephone services.
HSBC said the bank saves US$20,000 for each job it moves offshore.
Another major UK bank, Lloyds TSB, is shifting 1000 jobs from its Gloucestershire premises to centres in Mumbai and Bangalore by the end of 2006.
The operations in Gloucester and Cheltenham handle IT, general insurance and other group operations. The bank said only a small number of workers would lose their jobs.
Lloyds also said its India operations perform at UK levels and that security is on a par with the UK.