Bank of America Back Office Moves to the Philippines

The Philippines is fast becoming a large draw for non-core back office bank support operations, and that is certainly going to put more U.S. call center workers and other tech support personnel, already hit by business process outsourcing overseas, in a precarious position.

With the lure of a large English-speaking population and cheaper operating costs, banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, have already established back office operations in the Philippines. And, according to a news report in the Manila Standard Today, financial giant Bank of America is the next in line.

Executive recruiters have already responded to much of the shift abroad for certain back office bank support jobs. In an interview with eFinancialCareers, one New York City metro area recruiter noted that his recruiting focus has changed with the market, with a shift away from many back office positions. For those looking for more secure back office support jobs, he points to compliance and regulatory positions. “I’d be shocked if any of that can be outsourced,” he said.

According to the Manila Standard report, Bank of America recently opened BA Continuum Philippines, a non-bank subsidiary of Bank of America. According to Bank of America’s Web site, BA Continuum Philippines provides business processes, business support functions and IT enabled services for the consumer and small business banking, global card services, Bank of America home loans, global banking and wealth management and global markets lines of business at Bank of America. The bank is in the process of opening its own call center in Taguig City. BA Continuum had temporary offices in Makati City.

Another news report quoted Mark Pipitone, Bank of America’s senior vice president for corporate communications, global tech and ops, noting that the bank was unable to provide additional information about the off-shoring efforts. Pipitone added, “We have employees and operations where we can ensure that we best serve our customers and clients.”