Last week Wachovia and Lloyds TSB Bank announced that Wachovia's Hong Kong operation will take over trade back office processing from the UK bank. Details of the agreement were not released, but Wachovia did reveal that by early next year, it will fully take over trade processing."Our customers will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this agreement," said Paul Baker, Lloyds TSB Bank PLC, managing director, Group Operations in a release. "This agreement with Wachovia will enable us to provide a stronger, more comprehensive customer proposition, while increasing flexibility and reducing costs."

"We look forward to developing our strategic trade partnership with Lloyds TSB, leveraging our strong focus on customer service, innovative trade platform and ability to customize our services for their specific requirements," said Michael Heavener, head of Wachovia's Global Financial Institutions and Trade division in the release.

Lloyds TSB already has significant outsourcing agreements, as a result of a 2005 push during which it signed up with Fujitsu, Xansa and IBM. Earlier this year, the bank outsourced over 100 positions to a triumvirate of Indian consultancies.