Wells Fargo seeks 5 acres for campus

US-based Wells Fargo & Company, which formally inaugurated its technology development centre at a leased premises here today, has sought five acres of land from the Andhra Pradesh government to build its own campus as part of its bigger plans for Hyderabad.

Bank officials today informed chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, who inaugurated the facility, about the company's plans, who in turn assured them of all the support.

Aveek Mukherjee, managing director, Wells Fargo India Solutions Private Limited, said the Hyderabad facility would work on technology solutions and products for its parent company, which is also looking at the possibility of establishing back office operations here though nothing has been finalised in this regard as yet.

"According to the president of the bank, Wells Fargo considers itself as a technology company that offers financial services and products to customers," he said while stating that technology plays a big role for the company, which has several firsts to its credit like introduction of internet and mobile banking services in the US.

Wells Fargo , which has assets worth $482 billion, is a diversified financial series company providing banking insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance for more than 23 million customers in the US and elsewhere.

According to CS Rao, CEO, APInvest, who was instrumental in bringing Wells Fargo to Hyderabad, the company has plans to ramp up the headcount to 2,000 from the modest 400 IT professionals by next year and proposes to increase the number to 4,000 in a four-year period.