Tata CEO sees opportunity as U.S. banks cut back

By Nick Zieminski

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The economic crisis may present a growth opportunity for India's top outsourcing firm, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), as U.S. financial services companies look to cut costs, but that opportunity is likely some months away, the company's CEO said on Wednesday.

It does not make sense for Wall Street firms to run their own "captive" back-office information technology operations that perform functions such as order processing, TCS Chief Executive Subramanian Ramadorai told Reuters.

"Captives will disappear, in my opinion," he said in an interview. "It's one of the big ticket items that will give them the savings they want."

TCS, part of India's Tata Group, provides services such as consulting, system integration and back-office outsourcing. Last month, it bought Citigroup Inc's back-office unit in India for $505 million, a deal that is expected to close by early January.

Ramadorai did not hold discussions with Citi while in New York this week, but added: "We continue to meet them."

As clients consolidate, Ramadorai said he saw further opportunity for Tata.

"If Bank of America goes and buys Merrill Lynch, they will be integrating," he said. "That (creates) some opportunities for us."

Both Bank of America Corp and Merrill Lynch & Co Inc are clients. As banks look to shrink and cut costs, they could save 20 percent to 30 percent on technology systems, he said.