Further to our report on the 8th of October, HSBC Bank has now confirmed that it will be setting up a new Gozo Service Centre in Xewkija, which will support the Bank's operations in Malta. The new Service Centre will employ a staff of 50 full-time equivalents, for whom recruitment has already started. Training for the chosen applicants will then start in mid-November. The new initiative will complement the Swatar Call Centre, where the bank will be employing 500 full time employees by the end of the year.

The new Service Centre, which is expected to be fully operational by the end of January 2008, will see an investment of around €800,000/Lm343,440 and annual recurring operational costs of €1m/Lm429,300. Capital expenditure will cover property refurbishment, fittings, IT systems and office equipment - which have all been procured locally - while the main operational cost relates to salaries.

HSBC Malta's CEO Shaun Wallis said that the initiative will increase job opportunities in Gozo, while it will also improve the work-life balance of some of the bank's existing Gozitan employees who commute to and from work in Malta on a daily basis.