The number of financial services companies sending jobs offshore will double in three years, in spite of the fact that more than half of such projects gain no initial cost benefits and that staff in popular countries such as India are becoming harder to retain, according to PwC.

While the search for cost savings remains the driver for offshoring activity, costs are not being cut by as much as company executives had expected. Fifteen per cent of those surveyed found no cost reductions even after five years.