Operational problems are mounting at Westpac's mortgage processing centre in Adelaide, with turnaround times on some loan applications now as long as six weeks.Three days appears to be the bank's normal target, and the centre may be meeting this for some preferred customers including the bank's own branch network and select mortgage brokers.For applications lodged through a long tail of other brokers, however, the expected processing time slipped steadily during December.For loans submitted last week the bank does not expect to process the applications until February 13, according to advice to brokers from the bank's business development managers."High levels of mortgage applications" and "a number of periods of system instability" are two reasons cited by Westpac in advice to brokers.The problems at the mortgage processing centre may run deeper, however.Westpac developed the centre, located at Lockleys in Adelaide, and which opened in 1996. The bank sold the facility, with a nine-year business sourcing contract, to EDS Business Process Administration Pty Limited in late 2001.Changing management priorities at Westpac and EDS and change of owner by, or of, Westpac and EDS, are also playing a part in the slide in service levels at the centre.A cavalier attitude by Westpac management toward smaller brokers may also explain the poor service.As with many financial services companies, Westpac is looking to reduce costs on many processes by contracting with suppliers in India.In the case of the bank's mortgage processing operations these include the so-called mirroring of tasks through contractors in India.Debbie Black, executive secretary of the Finance Sector Union's South Australian and Northern Territory office estimated Indian-based contractors handled up to 25 per cent of the workload managed through the MPC.Staff levels at the MPC have dropped, down to fewer than 1000 according to the FSU and down from close to 1500 at its peak.EDS management in Adelaide also appears unwilling to fund the overtime required to catch up on the backlog.A rigid approach by EDS management may be hindering service quality to Westpac's customers. According to the FSU, management will not allow staff to enter the building more than 15 minutes before a shift, a policy that may retard productivity and frustrates staff.The takeover of EDS by HP (formerly Hewlett-Packard) in August may also play a role in declining service standards for Westpac. Debbie Black said HP had said at the time the takeover was announced, in May 2008, that it would not make changes at the MPC. Since then EDS has cut staff levels, though whether this is being driven by HP and EDS or by Westpac is not clear.The takeover by Westpac of St George Bank last month may also be bearing on short-term priorities at the MPC.Westpac is aiming to save $400 million in operating costs across the two banks over three years. Westpac undertook to maintain the St George branch infrastructure and also to maintain the operations centre at Kogarah in Sydney, depriving the bank, at least in the short term, of engineering savings in the mortgage processing platforms