Westpac IT to move back office opns to India

Melbourne, May 2: Australian banking conglomerate Westpac IT has said that it is seriously considering a move to send more of its back office IT work to India. According to Westpac CEO Gail Kelly, outsourcing costs grew three per cent to 245 million dollars, necessitating a review of its entire IT operations, including its core banking operations and lucrative outsourcing contracts.

The Australian quoted Kelly as saying that Westpac's IT review has been underway for several months, and this has been especially undertaken in the wake of its technology spend increasing by over 70 million dollars for the half-year to March 31, 2008. Westpac's IT review, which has been under way for several months, includes its legacy systems and four billion dollars outsourcing contract with IBM and Telstra, and will form part of the bank's strategic agenda due to be delivered later this year.

The IT review is being spearheaded by the bank's group executive, technology and operations, Diane Sias, who has been looking over the bank's systems since her appointment last September.

ANI