UK's Lloyds Banking Group to set up tech centre in Hyderabad

LLOYDS Bank

Lloyds Banking Group, one of the UK’s largest financial services organisations, said on June 21 that it is setting up a technology centre in Hyderabad and will recruit 600 people by the end of 2023.

Lloyds’s captive will come up in the Knowledge City. The group, which has brands such as Lloyds Bank, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland under its belt, said it plans to expand its digital capabilities through the tech centre.

Lloyds’ Group Chief Operating Officer Ron van Kemenade said in a statement that the investment “reflects India's rise as a tech innovation powerhouse”, which the company would utilise to meet customers’ needs and support its long-term growth strategy.

“As we grow our presence in the area, and create additional roles, there will be a wealth of opportunities in Hyderabad, especially given its highly talented engineers and impressive technology ecosystem,” he said.

The new captive is part of the group’s strategic investment of £3 billion over the next three years to transform its digital offerings.

The hiring target of 600 is an initial number and the roles will be in technology, data, and cybersecurity, it said.

Like in the case of several other banking captives, Lloyds won’t offer banking services in the country. The captive will focus on using technology and digital data and analytics capabilities to drive innovation and end-to-end product delivery.

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The group is putting together its leadership team as well as undertaking broader recruitment before opening the captive later this year.

“We are looking for brilliant people, who want to grow their skills, innovate for our people and customers, and support our sustainable growth,” van Kemenade said.

Telangana’s information technology minister KT Rama Rao said the state continues to be a preferred global destination for IT/ITeS exports owing to its tech talent as well as the government’s initiatives.

“…we express our gratitude and extend a warm welcome to Lloyds Banking Group for selecting Hyderabad, Telangana to build their tech and data talent, and their commitment to India,” he said.

Lloyds is the latest among a long list of companies either looking to establish or expand the presence of their captives in India.

According to a recent report by industry body NASSCOM and management consultancy Zinnov, there are over 1,580 captives in the country but this number is believed to be understated. A report by EY estimates that India could have 2,100 global capability centres  by 2026 and up to 2,500 by 2030.

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