Wells Fargo outsources to Phl despite US bill

MANILA, Philippines - Despite the US anti-outsourcing bill, America’s fourth-largest bank by assets has started to relegate some of its non-core, business support activities in the Philippines.

Wells Fargo has recently established a Philippine solutions center, reinforcing Manila’s reputation as a global hub for labor-intensive and IT-enabled outsourcing services, said former Senator Ernesto Herrera, president of labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).

“We welcome Wells Fargo’s launch of an in-house business support center in Manila, following the footsteps of JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc.,” Herrara said.

“We are counting on Wells Fargo’s new center to help provide gainful employment to our college-educated, fluent English-speaking professionals, many of whom remain idle,” he added.

Wells Fargo’s Philippine center deals with a variety of functions, including customer service and back-office support.

The American bank’s decision to shift more jobs offshore comes amid worries in the Philippines over a US anti-outsourcing bill.

The proposed US Call Center and Consumer Protection Act, introduced by New York Rep. Tim Bishop, would require the US Department of Labor to track firms that shift contact center jobs overseas.

The firms would then be ineligible for any direct or indirect US federal loans or loan guarantees for five years. The bill would also require contact center staff to disclose their location to US consumers, who would be given the right to be routed to a US-based call hub upon request.

Herrera, however, does not expect the US Congress to pass the bill, which he said is being opposed by American corporations that are benefitting from outsourcing.

The Philippine BPO industry sees its revenues jumping 18 percent to $13 billion this year. In 2011, the industry’s revenues reached $11 billion.

Based on the projected incremental revenues of $2 billion, Herrera said the industry could create around 126,000 new jobs this year.