Inside India’s biggest banking and financial services tech hubs

BENGALURU: Standard Chartered will eliminate more than 7,000 jobs over the next four years as it seeks to replace “lower-value human capital” with technology, becoming one of the top names in finance to target headcount cuts using artificial intelligence.

Announcing the job cuts on Tuesday, the London-headquartered lender said the most affected roles will be in its back-office centres, including those in Chennai and Bengaluru.

Standard Chartered is among the 2,000-plus companies that have set up tech hubs in India, ‌also known as ⁠global capability ⁠centres. Staffing firm has counted India’s banking, financial services and insurance sector as one of the top three verticals within India’s GCC (global capability centres) economy, representing 20% to 25% of overall headcount in the GCC ecosystem.

GCCs have moved beyond low-cost back-office support, with companies using these centres to support headquarters through higher-value functions including finance, software development and R&D. While firms such as LPL Financial, MetLife, State Street and First Citizens Bancshares either set up new tech centres or expanded operations last year, Fidelity Investments ⁠and ‌announced layoffs due to restructuring and AI adoption.

Here’s a look at the largest financial services firms that have hubs in India.

The New York‑based lender employs more than 55,000 ⁠people in India, where it launched operations in 2002, making it one of the largest employers among offshore hubs. The centres’ functions span software, product development, data analytics and AI.

WELLS FARGO

Wells Fargo started its tech operations in India in 2006 and has since added business operations, corporate functions, finance, and technology functions. While it employs over 30,000 people across three Indian centres, it plans to shut its centre in Chennai by 2027 and consolidate it into its Bengaluru and Hyderabad locations.

Goldman Sachs’ Bengaluru and Hyderabad offices, launched in 2004 and 2021 respectively, ‌employ roughly 9,000 people and represent the firm’s second-largest presence globally. These technology hubs work across all GS functions, according to the company.

CITI
Citi employs over 33,000 staff across its four tech centres in Chennai, Pune, Bengaluru and ⁠Mumbai. It focuses on operations such as software development, artificial intelligence, machine learning and maintenance of digital and cloud infrastructure.

The U.S. bank was one of the first global firms to set up tech operations in India in 1985.

UK-based Barclays’ 9,000-strong workforce operates out of Noida, Mumbai and Chennai in India. The bank started tech operations in 2007 and focuses on data analytics, cloud and AI functions.

The U.S.-based financial giant American Express operates four tech centres in India – Gurugram, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. The centres currently handle cybersecurity, data analytics and risk management functions. It started operations in 1994 in the country.