(MENAFN- Live Mint) Wall Street's growing reliance on its Indian hubs - known as Global Capability Centers (GCCs) - for recruiting talent is set to accelerate further, as US President Donald Trump moves to tighten immigration policies and increase the cost of H-1B visas. The move is expected to push big firms to expand their back-office and technology operations in India, where a vast pool of skilled talent and lower costs offer a competitive edge.

This shift is already visible, with major companies expanding their India-based teams. JPMorgan Chase & Co is hiring credit support specialists in Bengaluru to monitor covenant breaches, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc is seeking associates to review loans. Private equity giant KKR & Co is also adding staff to review its portfolio companies, and hedge fund Millennium Management LLC is recruiting risk analysts for its derivatives trading team, Bloomberg reported.

India is considered one of the largest tech talent pools globally. It stands alongside China and Japan as one of the only three countries to have cities represented in the global top 10 rankings, according to Colliers' Global Tech Markets: Top Talent Locations 2025 report.

H-1B visa curbs fuel expansion

Senior executives at two US banks in India are reportedly in talks with their head offices to ramp up their GCCs in direct response to the H-1B visa crackdown, according to Bloomberg. Some lenders are even looking to revoke offer letters for US positions or create alternative roles at their GCCs in India.

Donald Trump's new $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications - which JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said“caught everyone off guard” - could add to India's competitive edge.

Ben Hodzic, head of North America at recruitment firm Selby Jennings, said,“With the new fee, they're (the company) starting to question if that job is a priority for them,” particularly jobs with a heavy math or computer science component, he said.

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The acceleration underscores the limits of Trump's strategy to safeguard domestic employment, as tighter immigration controls on higher-skilled workers push the job roles abroad. Even before the visa move, employment at these hubs was projected to jump 50% to 2.8 million people by 2030, based on estimates last year from the National Association of Software and Service Companies, and Zinnov, a consulting firm.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers criticised the banks' hiring, saying,“The fact that these banks are moving their operations to markets where labor is cheaper now that they cannot abuse the H-1B system is evidence that they were using foreign workers to undercut Americans' wages.”

However, Vivek Ramji Iyer, a partner at Grant Thornton Bharat LLP, defended the hiring acceleration in India, saying,“India is no longer just a low-cost destination with cheap labor, but a market with deep talent.”

Shift from being the back office to mission-critical centre

What began in the 1990s as low-cost back-office centres has transformed into important operational centres of global finance. The sprawling campuses in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Gurugram and Mumbai now employ armies of quants, risk analysts, investment and tech staff. The top six US banks employ about 150,000 staff in their GCCs, with Goldman and Morgan Stanley having more staff in India than anywhere outside the US.

The work done in these hubs is increasingly sophisticated. Groundbreaking projects are carried out in these hubs. The importance of these hubs is such that if one European bank faces a catastrophe in India, such as an earthquake, it would disrupt the bank's activities more than a similar disaster at its headquarters, according to Bloomberg.

Why are companies attracted to India?

Global firms have already been hiring rapidly, even before the visa crackdown began. Goldman's GCC workforce in India has increased to more than 8,000 from 300 when it first started its operations in Bengaluru in 2004.

For employees, India offers significant salary savings compared to other countries. An engineering graduate could earn between ₹300,000 ($3,384) to ₹800,000 a year for an entry-level job role at a US bank's GCC; however, it also depends on the location. That compares with $60,000 for an Indian on a US visa, and up to $120,000 for a US citizen in the same role, according to Bloomberg.

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This growth reflects the deepening talent pool. Goldman this month promoted 38 people to managing director in Bengaluru, the largest number of MD promotions after New York and London.

“Over decades, India has emerged as a key geographic center for banks' GCC expansions,” said Pramod Kumar, CEO at Barclays Plc's Indian unit. Looking ahead, he predicts that the trend is likely to gather momentum.

Key Takeaways

• US companies are increasingly hiring in India due to the H-1B visa crackdown, leading to the expansion of Global Capability Centers (GCCs).
• India's talent pool is evolving from low-cost labor to sophisticated operational centers, reflecting its strategic importance in global finance.
• Major banks are ramping up hiring in India, with significant roles being created for skilled positions in technology and finance, further solidifying India's status as a key player in the global job market.

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