Bank opening Henderson call center with 600 jobs

Phil Levine

Wednesday, Dec. 1, 1999 | 10:47 a.m.

Providian Financial Corp. said today it will open a Henderson call center employing 600 people in February.

Shailesh J. Mehta, chairman and chief executive officer of the San Francisco-based company, cited Henderson's "positive business climate and qualified labor force" as contributing factors in the decision to open the new call center.

Located at 2280 Corporate Circle Drive, the Henderson call center is needed to support Providian's planned growth in the areas of e-commerce and credit cards, he said.

With more than 10,000 employees in the United States and United Kingdom, Providian specializes in deposit and loan products as well as credit cards. Concurrent to the opening of the 63,000-square-foot Henderson center, Providian will open a similar sized call center in San Antonio, Texas.

Providian is the latest in a series of financial services companies choosing to open Southern Nevada call centers.

As a result of its merger with Norwest Bancorporation, Wells Fargo moved its credit card approval call center from Phoenix to Las Vegas in October.

Last summer, Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America revealed plans to open a 700-person call center at 1351 Town Center Drive in Summerlin.

Citibank first considered opening its Las Vegas call center in 1984; today, the bank employs more than 2,000 people at its Lakes-area credit card processing center.

The Nevada Development Authority recently identified 39 call center operators in the Las Vegas area. NDA President and Chief Executive Officer Somer Hollingsworth cited the saturation of the Phoenix call center market -- combined with Southern Nevada's explosive population growth -- as two factors adding to the region's appeal.

According to the NDA, the average call center paid $12.45 an hour in fiscal 1998-99, about 11.8 percent below the state average.

Other existing financial call centers in Metropolitan Las Vegas include those of Household Credit, Bank of Marin, First Card Services and USA Group.