Banks are the lifeline of any country dealing with the man on the street and those who drive the country. The sector that was the obvious choice of the entire middle-class educated segment till the 1990s lost its sheen a bit with IT taking its place.

But the growth of IT sector had a cascading effect on the employment opportunities in several sectors and banking is a sector that has really benefitted from it — both as a career opportunity and a respected position in the society. Last year, about 50,000 posts were filled up and this year there could be a similar process. No wonder, youngsters are queuing up for careers in banking.

The recruitment system in banks had undergone many changes from the establishment of banking service recruitment boards and their subsequent abolition in 2001. The process is likely to be more dynamic as the banks now have autonomy in recruitment process.

“Proper time management, a sound grip over happenings around us and good practice in reasoning and data interpretation are key to success in bank recruitment examinations,” points out C.S. Vepa, Director, National School of Banking (NSB).

Speaking at a seminar on ‘Exciting Careers in Banking sector' organised by The Hindu Business Line, he said the banking sector had emerged as one of the top recruiters in the recent past.

Giving tips for success in bank examinations, he said one should keep an eye on the contemporary happening for scoring well in the general knowledge section. Time was also very important, he said adding that short time was generally given to candidates as they were expected to take fast decisions after their selection.

Career growth

According to Amitabha Guha, former managing director, State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), banking is one of the few sectors in which career growth is directly linked to performance. The banking industry was poised for good growth as commercial credit was surging ahead with interest income moving the bottomlines of banks. The government which owned 85 per cent of banking assets, was keen on consolidation, convergence and competitiveness. A sound human resource policy, enhancing productivity and better risk management would be the key challenges for banks in the days to come, he said.

Mathew Jospeh, former Deputy General Manager, Andhra Bank pointed out that a career in banking was open to people of all specialisations.

“Each one has a possibility of growth in banking. The financial inclusion, rural banking are potential areas,'' he said. On innovations in banking, Mr Joseph pointed out that banks were now going beyond just credit/debit of transactions.

The technology-driven innovations such as core banking solution, smart cards and business correspondents were causing a shift in approach to banking.

“With most of the work now being electronically done at back offices, bank branches are emerging as challenging market place for extending products and services,'' Mr Joseph said adding that these emerging areas would open a plethora of career opportunities. Moreover, there was satisfaction of contributing to the social transformation.