US financial outsourcing firm opens in Philippines

US-based financial services provider FIS recently opened its first contact center in the Philippines as the company continues to expand its presence in the Asian region.

The facility here is located in one of the biggest business districts in the country. The company initially hired 150 employees although it expects to expand to 1,000 seating capacity in less than two years.
FIS' Chief Operating Officer Gary Norcross was quoted by the ABS CBN online news as saying that they like to achieve a secure position in one country and continue its strength here in the coming years . He sees the Philippines as one of the strategic locations.
While majority of their revenues are from banks in the US, he said that they aim to expand their capabilities in Asia as he eyes a strong growth in this region.

FIS' Global Commercial Services SVP Ram Chary also said that the facility here cost $5 million, and would service three primary areas such as IT outsourcing, integrated solutions and BPO.

FIS posted about $5-million revenues last year, which was a flat increase compared to 2008. This was because of the adverse effect of the worldwide financial meltdown. Norcross said that interest for business process outsourcing services became weak due to the cautious environment. However, he said that they have a much rosier outlook for this year.

Norcross said that they expect more investments on IT by financial institutions during the first quarter of 2010, unlike in the early 2009 when global financial institutions cut their IT expenses as part of the phenomenon. He added that they anticipate the economic rewards in the later part of the year.