1.5 lakh PSU bank jobs up for grabs

Public sector banks in the country are likely to recruit over 1.5 lakh personnel in various cadres over the next three years.

“The manpower requirement of public sector banks will increase substantially over the next three years as significant number of retirements is lined up in all banks,” Mr R. Bhaskaran, Chief Executive Officer, Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (IIBF), Mumbai, told Business Line.

As per IIBF estimates, vacancies coming up in public sector banks alone could be over 1.5 lakh. “Apart from entry-level clerical positions, there is a need for mid-level executives. Further, as banks are diversifying into areas such as insurance, they will have to hire domain experts as well,” Mr Bhaskaran, who was in Hyderabad recently, explained. The PSU banks recruited about 30,000 last year.

The positions are now getting diversified. “The banks today are in need of marketing and finance executives, legal officers, IT professionals to handle core banking solutions (CBS), analysts and agricultural officers,” pointed out Mr Kalyan Mukherjee, Executive Director, Andhra Bank.

“Lot of retirements are in the offing. Further, as business is expanding, the manpower expansion should go hand in hand with it,” he said.

SBH To Recruitment 400

Mr Amitabha Guha, Managing Director, State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), also sees increasing need for manpower. “SBH alone will be recruiting 400 personnel including 100 officers this year. We have already sent the intent to SBI which will recruit for us,” he said.

In contrast with the previous practice of a common written examination, many banks are exploring new hiring methods competing with private banks in tapping the talent.

“For recruiting finance and marketing executives and analysts, we are going for campus recruitment,” the Andhra Bank official said. The bank preferred mid-level institutes in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam for campus recruitments, to big names such as IITs, he added.

Sensex rallies by 228 points closes at 15,318

The stock market rose sharply on Friday tracking strong Asian markets.

The Bombay Stock Exchange barometer opened firm at 15,131.36 and gradually moved upwards to 15,350.14, up 228.40 points.

Similarly, the broad-based S&P CNX Nifty of the NSE spurted by 54.20 points at 4,466.50 from previous close of 4,412.30.

Marketmen said major support to the market came from some of the heavy weight stocks in metal and auto sectors. A better trend in Asian stock markets also boosted the market sentiment, they added.

Mahindra & Mahindra, the country’s top tractor maker by sales, rallied 4.50% to Rs 705.55, off its day’s high of Rs 722.15. In the past seven trading sessions till 30 August 2007, the stock had soared 10.30% to Rs 675.15, riding on reports that it is conducting due diligence on Jaguar and Land Rover, put up for sale by Ford. Other potential bidders include private equity groups TPG Capital, Cerberus Capital Management, Ripplewood Holdings, One Equity Partners and Tata Motors.

All the European markets, which opened after the Indian markets, were trading higher. Key benchmark indices in United Kingdom (up 0.52% to 6,244.38), Germany (up 0.38% to 7,548.33), and France (up 0.72% to 5,632.79), gained.

All the Asian markets settled higher today, 31 August 2007. Japan's Nikkei (up 2.57% at 16,569.09), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (up 2.41% at 8,982.16), Hong Kong's Hang Seng (up 2.13% at 23,984.14), Shanghai Composite (up 0.99% to 5,218.82), Singapore's Straits Times (up 2.16% at 3,392.91), and South Korea's Seoul Composite (up 1.71% at 1,873.24), all edged higher

Crude oil prices steadied on Friday, 31 August 2007, as concerns over low oil stocks in the United States were compounded by a possible tropical storm forming in the Atlantic. US crude rose 24 cents to $73.60 a barrel while London Brent was up 21 cents at $72.11 a barrel.

The BSE Sensex surged 957 points, or 6.76%, in four trading sessions, from its 14,163.98 on 23 August 2007 to 15,121.74 on 30 August 2007

US markets rally on home sales report

US markets jumped on Friday as surprisingly strong data on home sales and durable goods orders relieved anxiety about the economy and bolstered investor confidence after weeks of market turbulence. The gains helped the S&P 500 index post its best week in five months, even with more news pointing to further turmoil in the subprime mortgage sector.

Both the Dow industrials and the S&P got a big boost from energy stocks such as Exxon Mobil Corp, which benefited from a 2 per cent surge in oil prices. Sales of new U.S. homes in July rose 2.8 per cent, reversing two months of declines and a report show ed new orders for durable goods, which are long-lasting U.S.-made products, soared in the same period.

The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 142.99 points, or 1.08 per cent, to end at 13,378.87. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 16.87 points, or 1.15 per cent, to finish at 1,479.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 34.99 points, or 1.38 per cent, to close at 2,576.69.