UP TO 330 new jobs could be created by the Bank of New York in Poole over coming years.

The Bank of New York has officially launched at Merck House with 170 staff after six months of preparations and systems testing.

Another 80 staff will be needed over coming months as the bank expands.

The bank plans to have 300 staff in place by 2008 and more than 500, pending "growth, space and infrastructure".

The Bank of New York's expansion is being fuelled by massive growth in its key market, the multi-trillion dollar corporate trust sector.

The bank is the world's largest player in corporate trusts, the administration of complex debt structures.

Its UK-based corporate trust operation is so large that it is equivalent in size to one of the 150 largest companies in Britain.

The Bank of New York currently occupies five storeys of offices at Merck House.

Senior executive vice president Timothy F Keaney said Poole was "a very important growth office" for the bank: "We are extremely excited as a company."

He praised the borough and the business community for the support they had given the bank in helping it to choose Poole for its new location.

Mr Keaney cited Poole's "excellent employment market and fantastic overall environment."

The Bank of New York is a leading global custodian with $13.8 trillion assets under custody and administration. It employs up to 21,000 staff in 54 offices in 32 countries.

In 2006 the bank served as trustee for more than 3,000 debt issues, together valued at more than $1.3 trillion in proceeds, equating to a 15.4 per cent market share.

On October 1 last year the Bank of New York acquired JPMorgan's corporate trust business in exchange for its retail banking operations.

In July, the Bank of New York will merge with the Pittsburgh-based Mellon Financial Corporation in a move that will make it the world's seventh largest bank.