The Hindu Business Line : Public sector banks on recruitment spree

While some private banks are wary about expansion, the recruitment outlook of the public sector banks remains robust due to significant retirements and rural expansion plans, according to experts.

“This is true with most of the public sector banks. There is no recession in hiring. We are firming up plans to hire over 4,000 officers and 1,000 clerks this year,” Mr M.V. Nair, Chairman and Managing Director, Union Bank of India, told Business Line.

State Bank of India is currently in the process of recruiting 3,500 probationary officers. “In addition, there are plans to hire around 20,000 clerical staff and around 5,000 officers,” an official from the SBI head office, Mumbai, said.

According to Mr R.S. Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director of Andhra Bank, the need for financial inclusion and requirements of extending credit for the primary sector would make the recruitment a necessity for the banks.

The diversification of banks into areas such as insurance is also adding up to the manpower needs. Andhra Bank would recruit 1,000 employees (majority of whom are officers).

In the current fiscal year, hiring by PSBs has been quite significant. According to industry estimates, they hired over 40,000 in various categories compared with 15,000 in 2007-08.

INCREASING FAD

Interestingly, job-seekers are increasingly finding jobs in public sector banks more “safer”.

“Till recently, private and foreign banks were preferred to PSBs due to higher remuneration. But now, many employees of private banks are also coming to take training to take PSB tests,” a functionary of National School of Banking, a training institute for bank examinations, said.

Private and foreign banks, on the other hand, are cautious on manpower expansion. “Most of our branches are understaffed. Though there is work pressure, we have been told to cope with it as fresh recruitments may not happen in the near future,” a senior official of ICICI Bank said.