Morgan Stanley plans to open a technology center in Montreal later this year, beginning operations with a number of local hires. As many as 500 people will be needed to staff the center, according to media reports.

Bloomberg says the bank is now looking for offices in the Montreal area, and plans to hire graduates in computer science, engineering, mathematics and other scientific fields. Managing Director Jim Rosenthal said average wages will start at more than $60,000 (Canadian). He expects the center to "grow over time," and noted, "We are constrained more by our ability to hire than we are by business conditions. We are such a big user of information technology.''

The center will support Morgan Stanley's business in New York, initially serving as a technology platform for fixed income, securities processing and settlements, investment management, enterprise data and application infrastructures, and corporate technology and finance. Morgan Stanley worked with Compuware, a long-time partner, to develop and implement a pilot delivery center, and is moving forward with a full center based on that work.

Within the past few years, Morgan Stanley has developed a network of technology and business services centers in Budapest, Glasgow, India and Shanghai.

"We very much wanted to come to Montreal because it is a place that has got a great pool of talent, but at the end of the day, we have to make a financial decision too,'' Rosenthal told Bloomberg. "For some of the technology work we do, it is valuable to us to be close to New York.''