Top United States bank Wells Fargo & Co. will be moving some of its business support activities that are non core to the Philippines; this despite the pending bill in the US Congress to dissuade US companies from outsourcing. 

“We selected the Philippines to be part of Wells Fargo’s international footprint based on the country’s reputation for strong customer service, a large English-speaking population and a cultural affinity to the United States,” Wells Fargo Philippines Solutions managing director David Caldwell said in a report published in Yahoo! News. Wells Fargo Philippines Solutions is the US company’s local subsidiary.

Wells Fargo & Co., the second biggest bank in the US in terms of home mortgage servicing, debit cards and deposits, has $1.3 trillion in assets. 

In the same report, former Sen. Ernesto Herrera welcomed the launch of the Wells Fargo business support center. The labor group leader said that the move further added to the country’s reputation as an “an exceptional global hub for labor-intensive and information technology-enabled outsourcing services.”

Herrera added that Wells Fargo deciding to offshore more jobs comes at a time of worries in the country over the US Congress bill “called the US Call Center and Consumer Protection Act” that discourages outsourcing. The former Senator added that he does not see the US Congress passing the proposed bill which many American companies that benefit from outsourcing oppose. 

The Wells Fargo building in the Philippines will be in the 14-hectare McKinley Hill Cyberpark managed property developer Megaworld Corp. 

“This move highlights the attractiveness of the Philippines as an investment destination and its human resource capabilities,” Megaworld first vice president for business development Jericho Go said in the Yahoo! News report. 

McKinley Hill Cyberpark is an IT park with accreditation from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority; this allows the Cyberpark to offer perks, which include income tax holidays and duty-free importation of equipment for the office. (30)