The new facility will provide technology resources, including software development, for a variety of functions and is expected to open the fourth quarter of 2006.

The bank says it is establishing the new facility due to a growing need for technology talent that can no longer be supplied solely in the US. But the bank insists that the offshore centre will have no effect on employment levels in the US, will not involve any customer-contact positions and will not manage any information about customers. All of the bank's customer service centres will continue to be located in the US.

Wells Fargo plans to open a leased facility and hire between 30 and 50 local staff in Hyderabad. The bank says it could employ up to 300 staff members by the end of next year.

Victor Nichols, head of Wells Fargo's technology information group, says: "This is simply about supply and demand - like most major US companies we're facing a shortage of qualified technical talent and we're not able to continue to meet this growing demand for such talent here."

Nichols says computer science graduates in the US have decreased by about a third in the last four years and during that time India has produced an abundant supply of technology and operations talent, with over a half a million technology and engineering graduates annually.

"We believe this new facility will help us to meet our growing business needs for technology skills that no longer can be supplied solely from the United States. The comparatively small amount of work we're planning to do in India - the same as work done for us today by outside contractors, some in India - is not motivated by cost savings and thus will have no effect on our US-based employment. We expect to increase the number of technology team members working for us in the US as talent becomes available," adds Nichols.