JP Morgan has underlined its commitment to Scotland with plans to create up to 500 technology jobs in the next three years.

The banking giant has recently celebrated the 15th anniversary of opening a European technology base in Glasgow.

The workforce there is now more than 1,000, having grown by around 200 people across the past 18 months.

The bank now hopes to grow that by 50 per cent over the next few years as a result of rising demand for software and new technology products.

Paul Murphy, managing director of the Glasgow European Technology Centre, said: "We have got just over 1,000 and have been growing significantly over the past couple of years. We have got plans over the next two to three years to get to about 1,500."

To facilitate that JP Morgan has taken sole occupancy of the Alhambra House building on Waterloo Street in Glasgow city centre and is fitting out the bottom floor it did not previously occupy.

It has also signed a further 10-year lease on the property as it cements it presence in the city.

Mr Murphy expressed his confidence that the company will be able to find candidates with the right mix of skills to meet its growth plan.

He said: "The draw when we set up in Glasgow was the university pipeline and that is still pretty much the case.

"In general terms finding the best people is always a challenge as everyone is after the best people.

"We are very comfortable we have a great talent pool and a good pipeline."

As part of the additional jobs the company intends to up its graduate intake over the next few years.

Mr Murphy said: "This year we have taken 30 graduates and next year it will be 50. Their experiences of what they are using technology for and how they run their life is changing.

"So when they come into a work environment they are demanding different services than maybe traditionally would have been thought.

"When we bring them in we challenge them to disrupt and bring different ways of thinking and not just accept the norm."

Mr Murphy is vocal about the need to ensure a low staff turnover and retain expertise within the business.

He said: "A lot of our employees have been here for a long time. If you think about the intellectual capital that is locked down in your staff [it is huge].

"It is a very complex business we are in. It can take people a number of months or even years to become expert.

"You need to keep those people motivated and excited."

The centre works on a range of technology services for the bank including everything from back office systems, trading functions, risk management and mobile apps.

Indeed the Glasgow site is JP Morgan's centre of excellence for mobile development for its investment bank with around 50 people working solely on that function.

That has already resulted in an app where customers can trade stocks and shares or adjust their financial affairs from mobile devices.

Mr Murphy said: "Clients are demanding real time access to their portfolios and the ability to manage their situations.

Technology for us now is a market differentiator. The chief executive Jamie Dimon talks about being a technology company inside a bank."

The Glasgow site is also looking at the potential business uses of wearable technology.

Mr Murphy, who is also the JP Morgan deputy chief information officer for Europe, said: "The mobile guys have Google Glass and things like that. We are starting to see where you might use it.

"It will take off within the next year or so but it is about finding a real business use of it.

"There are lots of personal and consumer uses but in a business context it is a bit more difficult to see."