Over 80,000 jobs up for grabs in public sector banks this year

TIME TO RACE: PSU banks on a recruitment drive

GOOD news for job seekers in public sector banks. With PSU banks being bullish on portfolio expansion, recruitment by the nationalized banks is likely to go up to 30 percent this year. The hiring scenario in the PSU banking sector is extremely positive this year and is likely to be...
80,000 to one lakh jobs, 25-30 percent more than last year fiscal. Union finance minister P Chidambaram said public sector banks plan to hire 50,000 persons and open 10,000 additional branches in the current fiscal. Out of these, the public sector banks are likely to add 10,000 branches. Out of these branches Regional Rural Banks are likely to open 2,000 branches in rural areas. 

There were around 84,489 vacancies at various levels in these PSU banks at the end of 2010-11. And most of these posts are still vacant. Seeking to improve manpower management in the public sector banks, the finance ministry recently said that the 19 public sector banks should have a total number of 442 general managers to oversee banking operations.

Bank of Maharashtra executive director CVR Rajendran said to manage all aspect of banking an executive has to have experience in rural, semi-rural, urban and metro branches. The CMD said while recruiting people local talent will be given priority. 

After the RBI giving licenses to new banks, he said, Bank of Maharashtra is expecting huge attrition. He said as over 800 people are retiring this year, the bank will be hiring 30 percent more than the required manpower. The Bank of Maharashtra, he said, will be hiring 2,000 executives this year.

As on March 31, 2012, the public sector banks had a sanctioned strength of about eight lakh employees. The banks hired around 63,000 persons in the last fiscal. The country's largest public sector bank SBI alone recruited 20,000 clerical staff and 1,200 officer level employees. Other PSU banks hired 22,000 officers and 20,000 clerical staff.

The rise in recruitment in the banking sector is primarily due to the banks becoming bullish on branch and portfolio expansion, besides retirement and reduction of the size of a workforce.

PSU banks added over 8,000 branches in current fiscal.
According to a recent Assocham report, the banks will be hiring over 100,000 this fiscal.

Public sector banks hired around 63,000 persons last fiscal year (FY13), with India's largest bank, State Bank of India (SBI), alone accounting for 20,000 clerical staff and 1,200 officer-level employees. SBI's employees strength was 2.28 lakh at the end of March 2013.

Other PSU banks hired 22,000 officers and 20,000 clerical staff, the study noted.