Colm Imbert, Minister of Finance; Richard Young, chairman of the T&T International Financial Centre, and Stephen Bagnarol, senior vice-president and head, Caribbean South and East of Scotiabank, were among officials who attended the formal opening of Scotiabank’s Operations and Shared Services Company Ltd (OSSCL) at Bhim Street, Ramsaran Park, Chaguanas on Wednesday.
The establishment of the OSSCL, according to Stephen Bagnarol, is one of the greatest examples of the ongoing partnership between Scotiabank and the Government and numerous related agencies including the T&T International Financial Centre and the T&T Free Zone Company.
Bagnarol said that with the establishment of the shared services hub, Scotiabank has demonstrated its commitment to T&T and the wider Caribbean.
The shared services hub houses the bank’s back-office operations, inclusive of: account processing, reconciliation, lending verification and credit function, customer support, compliance and enhanced due diligence and collection services for T&T and 17 other countries in the wider Caribbean region.
According to Bagnarol, T&T was selected as a preferred location as the infrastructure and telecommunications network are well established, with the capacity to support cross border operations with other regional players.
Another important factor, Bagnarol said, was the availability of a diverse and skilled workforce where English is the primary language.
Richard Young, former managing director of Scotiabank, and now the chairman of the T&T International Financial Centre told guests that he feels a profound sense of satisfaction and pride, since back in 2012, he was instrumental in getting the Free Zone regulation changed to accommodate Scotiabank’s venture into the shared services industry.
The OSSCL, Young said, started off by creating over 450 jobs and today through this expansion has increased the numbers to over 750, making OSSCL the largest SSC in T&T.
