Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 17 M AY 2 , 2 0 1 6 Morgan Stanley, for example, opened last April an 184,000-square-foot back offi ce in Bengaluru, India, housing 1,400 workers to support its technology and fund services businesses. It also has an offi ce in Mumbai, India, with another 2,400 back offi ce workers. e back offi ce cost-cutting strategy is part of the fi rm's eff ort to improve its return on equity from 8.5% to 10%, according to the Boyd Co. analysis. "We have too many employees based in high-cost centers doing work that can sensibly be done in lower-cost centers," Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman said in a recent earnings call with Wall Street analysts. Likewise, according to the analysis, Goldman Sachs Group, UBS Group AG and Credit Suisse AG are all looking to expand their back offi ce centers in Poland to benefi t from the country's relatively inexpensive but skilled workforce. With the exception of Geneva, Switzerland, which appears slightly above the mid- point of the 45-city cost analysis list, the lowest-cost locations are all off shore. Five of the lowest 10 cities are in Canada. Even so, in a tape-recorded interview about the back offi ce analysis, Boyd says Portland has an opportunity to capital- ize on one of the hottest sectors of the corporate relocation industry — namely, banking and fi nancial services. e fol- lowing is an edited transcript. Mainebiz: What are some of your takeaway observations based on this new analysis, particularly in relation to Portland? John Boyd: Portland has always been identifi ed as a cost-competitive market. However, you are working with a number of very compelling and strong trends today. ere's this de-centralization away from the head offi ce. Companies within the fi nancial services sector are taking labor-inten- sive operations out of the expensive address in Boston or Manhattan to lower-cost secondary, and even what we would term tertiary, markets. Here's a major takeaway. Now, I'm going to meet with a company later today and I suspect this will be a major talking point: It's the competition that Portland is facing from Canada, specifi cally, Montreal. Montreal is the lowest-cost market in North America in this study. And it's why Morgan Stanley and State Street — which has operations in Boston and in Everett, not far from southern Maine — are putting jobs in Montreal right now. It's happening under the radar screen. Award Sponsors Diplomat Sponsors Dignitary/Luncheon Sponsor Ambassador Sponsor M A I N E I N T E R N A T I O N A L T R A D E C E N T E R P R E S E N T S Thursday, May 26 • 12:00 - 7:00 PM • Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland, ME Register Now! mitc.com TRADE DAY 2016 BANGOR MAINE 1 College Circle 207.941.7100 PRESQUE ISLE On the NMCC campus 207.760.1176 WESTBROOK 340 County Road 800.562.1294 ONLINE online.husson.edu 855.902.9965 Find out more at... learn.husson.edu | 800.448.7766 We're committed to ensuring that the future you want is not only in sight, but also within reach. Husson offers... ■ Prior Learning Assessment – Earn up to 30 credits toward your Bachelor's degree! ■ Undergraduate and graduate degree programs ■ Affordable tuition ■ Flexible class options – Online, afternoons, evenings and weekends ■ Convenient locations – Westbrook, Bangor, Presque Isle and Online Invest in yourself. Advance your career. Finish a degree. C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E »

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