StanChart to hire up to 700 in India

The Economic Times Online

StanChart to hire up to 700 in India

TIMES NEWS NETWORK TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2005 01:03:07 AM

CHENNAI: Scope International, Standard Chartered Bank's BPO arm, plans to expand the headcount of its Chennai hub by 500-700 people and hike its floor space by 50,000 sq ft this year.

The company, which had remained a captive centre for its parent since its inception four years ago, is also looking for third-party clients. It is in talks with financial insbreastutions in the US and expects to sign up with a partner this year.

Mr Sreeram Iyer, who was recently elevated to the position of group head - global shared service centres, Scope International, said, "We have achieved what we had initially set to achieve and now contribute net savings of $80 million to Standard Chartered Group each year."

These savings were achieved by moving work from a high-cost economy to a low-cost economy. It has also helped the bank to improve operational efficiency in all key metrics, he said.

"Going forward, we would like to leverage this capability and the group's network to offer services to third-party clients," Mr Iyer said.

The clients are likely to be from the US. This is a market in which Standard Chartered Bank does not have a significant presence, and hence the issue of conflict of interests would not arise, he added.

Mr Iyer further said the proposed increase in the headcount was irrespective of business from third-party clients. "We will drive more high-end processing into the hub and initiate end-to-end process enhancements," he said.