PSU banks need to fill 40,000 vacancies

About 40,000 vacancies have been created in public sector banks so far this year due to retirements, resignations and expansion of business. The State Bank of India group had 19,000 vacant positions, followed by mid-size banks like Syndicate Bank and Central Bank of India, which have over 3,000 vacancies each. The data is from the Department of Financial Services.

The current employee strength of all state-run banks is about 672,000. The SBI group has about 200,000 employees, followed by Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank, which do not have any vacancies presently.

"Retirements and opening of new branches and business growth are the key reasons for these vacancies. Branch expansion is happening at a much faster pace than the selection process. Banks are trying to fill these posts but getting the right talent is a challenge," said the chairman of a state-run bank.

Indian Bank, UCO Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India also have over 1,000 vacancies each. IDBI, Corporation Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and Indian Overseas Bank have filled all posts.

"Recruitment in public sector banks is a continuous process. The entire selection process handled by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection takes a long time. Too many vacant posts and delay in recruitment affects growth and performance of banks to some extent," said another top banker.

In 2008-09, about 55,000 people were recruited by public sector banks. IBPS had initially estimated recruitment of over 30,000 people in 2009-10. However, this may go up because banks have to fill existing posts, as well as new vacancies arising out of superannuation and expansion of business over the next three months.

SBI is planning to hire 13,000 persons in the current financial year. Bank of Baroda, United Bank of India, Andhra Bank and Indian Bank are planning to recruit 3,000, 1,500, 1,000 and 700 people, respectively, at various levels.

Apart from opening a significant number of new branches every year, many banks have ventured into new areas such as distribution of insurance and other financial products.

The average number of offices per bank in India rose to 825 in 2008-09 from 776 in 2007-08. Business per employee also rose to Rs 7.5 crore (Rs 75 million) last year from Rs 6.33 crore (Rs 63 million) in the previous year. Wages as a percentage of total expenses came down by 50 basis points, to 13.52 per cent in 2008-09.