Lloyds Banking Group is opening a tech centre in the Indian city of Hyderabad as part of its digital transformation, with plans to recruit 600 data and cyber security specialists.
The operation, which will open this year, is part of Lloyds Bank’s strategy to improve the customer experience through technology as more people rely on digital banking channels, where the bank is investing heavily. Banks are making big investments in digital technology to improve the user experience as digital channels become the prime destination for customers in the age of smartphones.
A bank spokesperson said: “The new technology centre will support the digital transformation happening across the group and deliver more great options for our customers. The centre will give us access to highly skilled tech and data specialists and will complement the investment we are making to grow and retain talent in the UK as part of the group’s ambitious long-term growth ambitions.”
According to reports, Ron van Kemenade, chief operating officer at Lloyds, the investment “reflects India’s rise as a tech innovation powerhouse, which we hope to utilise to meet customers’ changing needs and support our long-term growth strategy”.
He added that the banking group expects more roles to be created at the centre in the future. “As we grow our presence in the area and create additional roles, there will be a wealth of opportunities in Hyderabad, especially given its highly talented engineers and impressive technology ecosystem.”
Indian cities give large enterprises access to huge talent pools and business ecosystems to support digital transformations. India was once attractive to large businesses as a low-cost location for IT services operations, much of which were reliant on high-volume repetitive roles, but today India is a location for senior global IT roles and higher-value work.
Outsourcing IT work to India has been a trend for large businesses such as banks since before the turn of the century, with waves of outsourcing and the establishment of captive technology centres. Today, businesses are increasing their footprints in business and tech hubs like Bangalore and Pune, as well as Hyderabad.
Peter Schumacher, CEO of management consultancy The Value Leadership Group, which specialises in outsourcing, said Lloyds joins a growing number of banks from around the world with large centres in Hyderabad.
“The financial ecosystem in Hyderabad has broadened significantly and now includes British companies like challenger bank OakNorth, Tide and the London Stock Exchange. Aside from the banks, Hyderabad is also home to software companies focused on banking and financial services,” he said.
Schumacher added that increasing investment in Hyderabad is creating a rich technology and business ecosystem. “The enormous pace of change and the constant interaction among companies is enabling the accelerated development of complementary capabilities and higher-value opportunities that extend far beyond just incremental improvements,” he said.