MANILA, Philippines - Global financial technology solutions provider FIS is setting up shop here in the Philippines, with its first-ever call center in Pasong Tamo, Makati.

President Gloria Arroyo attended the inauguration of the facility, which currently has 150 employees to start with, but is expected to house a total of 1,000 seats in the next 18 months.

"We like to get a strong foothold in a country and build around that in the years to come.  The Philippines is a strategic location," says FIS Chief Operating Officer Gary Norcross.

Ram Chary, FIS SVP for Global Commercial Services, says about $5-million was spent for the facility, which will  three major areas including integrated solutions, IT outsourcing, and business process outsourcing.  Clients include banks such as Allied Bank, BDO, and ADB.

Norcross points out that while bulk of revenues come from US-based banks, FIS sees strong growth in Asia.

"Our goal is to broaden capabilities in this region," he stresses.

The company posted revenues of around $5-billion in 2009, a flat growth from the previous year, due to the adverse impact of the global financial crisis.  Norcross notes that, as was the worldwide trend, appetite for BPO services was dampened by a cautious environment.  But this year, he says the outlook is much rosier.

"In the early part of 2009, we saw financial institutions in the world slow down their IT spending.  It was a global phenomenon, but in the latter half, we saw FIs investing in IT technology again.  That's what we see continuing in the first quarter this year, and we expect to start seeing the economic benefits of growth in the latter half of 2010," he says.

FIS supports over 14,000 financial institutions in more than 100 countries worldwide, through its 30,000-strong workforce.  Bulk or 67% of its operations involve US banks, while 16% account for the international financial institutions, including Asia's. The balance of 17% comes from non financial institutions such as healthcare and government services.