Barclays and Firstsource Announce Partnership at Colorado Springs Operations Center

    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Barclays U.S. credit
 card business and Firstsource Solutions Limited, a leading global provider
 of business process management services, today announced a partnership to
 manage a Barclays operations center in Colorado Springs.
 
     The multi-year partnership is expected to bring about operational
 enhancements for employees and customers and help both companies support
 their expanding operations in the U.S., according to Lloyd M. Wirshba,
 Chief Executive Officer of Barclays U.S. credit card business.
 
     Barclays opened the operations center in 2005 to primarily handle
 customer-service calls for its U.S. credit card business. The call center
 currently handles approximately 15,000 inbound calls each day and employs a
 total of about 370 people. The operations center also provides collections
 and fraud-prevention services.
 
     Firstsource, headquartered in India, will oversee day-to-day operations
 at the center and will leverage its operational expertise to enhance
 service delivery for Barclays cardmembers and partners. Firstsource employs
 more than 2,400 people in the U.S. and is seeking to expand its U.S.
 operations.
 
     "This is an ideal partnership for Firstsource, Barclays and Colorado
 Springs," said Wirshba. "Firstsource brings a wealth of knowledge and
 expertise to our team, and we are delighted to work with them. This will
 help us support the growth of our business, enhance our capabilities and
 continue our tradition of providing extraordinary service to our
 cardmembers and partners."
 
     "Colorado Springs is an ideal location because it blends a great
 workforce with a great quality of life," said Ananda Mukerji, Managing
 Director and CEO, Firstsource. "We are actively expanding our operations in
 the U.S. and this center will serve as one of our marquee locations."
 
     "This site is a tremendous source of employment for Colorado Springs
 and we are excited about our future here," said Kelly Weaver, Site
 Director. "Firstsource has an excellent reputation and they will help us
 enhance the outstanding service we currently provide."
 
     About Barclays PLC
 
     Barclays PLC is a major global financial services provider engaged in
 retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth
 management and investment management services. It is one of the largest
 financial services companies in the world by market capitalization. With
 over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in
 over 50 countries and employs over 127,000 people. Barclays moves, lends,
 invests and protects money for over 27 million customers and clients
 worldwide. For further information about Barclays, please visit our website
 http://www.barclays.com.
 
     Headquartered in Wilmington, DE, Barclays U.S. credit card business has
 more than 60 partnerships with some of the country's most successful
 travel, entertainment, retail and financial institutions including US
 Airways, AirTran Airways, Frontier Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Carnival
 Cruise Lines, BJ's Wholesale Club, Travelocity, Gulf Oil, and others. The
 company employs more than 1,400 employees in Wilmington and Colorado
 Springs, CO, and was named a Top Five Employer in Delaware in 2007. For
 more information please visit http://www.barclays.com.
 
     About Firstsource
 
     Firstsource is among the world's leading BPO (business process
 outsourcing) service providers. Firstsource provides customized business
 process management to global leaders in the Banking & Financial Services,
 Telecom & Media and Healthcare sectors. Its clients include six Fortune
 Global 500 banks, two Fortune Global 500 telecommunications companies and
 three Fortune 100 healthcare companies. Firstsource has a global delivery
 model with operations in India, US, UK, Argentina and Philippines.
 (http://www.firstsource.com)
 
 
 

SOURCE Barclays