Banking plays a very important role in any economy. The Banking Sector in India has witnessed many changes from the nationalization of the banks in late sixties to their striving to be in business, in the post liberalized era, in face of the competition from foreign banks. The recommendations of the Narasimham Committee on Banking Reforms, which have been accepted by the government, are being implemented in phased manner to increase the measure of their competitive efficiency and to make them globally competitive. The fiscal reforms and the IT wave have vastly improved the existing services and introduced many new facilities in the country like tele-banking, credit cards, electronic clearance etc for the first time. In most metropolitan banks, computers are replacing unwieldy ledgers, and more and more banks are offering facilities like Internet banking.
Apart from regular banking operation, termed as ‘house-keeping’, commercial banks are now diversifying and giving thrust to areas like corporate banking, merchant banking, investment banking and treasury and forex functions. Besides growing income, economic liberalization, has resulted in increased volumes of international trade, and these factors together have given impetus to the demand for better banking facilities which are at par with international standards. There is thus an increasing demand for professionals in the banking sector. A career in banking sector therefore holds great promise for those with the right qualifications and its no wonder that a job with a foreign bank is highly coveted by students from top management institutes.
In India Reserve Bank of India is at the apex of the banking structure. It plays the role of a regulator and monitors the functioning of commercial banks. Along with Ministry of Finance it lays down the broad parameters of the country’s monetary policy. It also issues guidelines and procedural instructions to all financial institutions and banks. Functioning of the Reserve Bank of India is therefore totally different. The remaining are mainly commercial banks, which function on more or less on the same line. There are banks specializing in a particular area like the Exim Band and NABARD. In addition to these there are financial institutions like ICICI, IDBI and IFCI that are related to the banking industry and those working in the banking sector may also have openings in such organizations.
Educational Qualification:
The Reserve Bank Services Board conducts an examination on the all India basis for recruitment of class I Officers. Graduate/ postgraduates/CA’s/MBA’s in the 21-26 year age group are eligible to take the examination.
Central Recruitment Board (SBI) and the Banking Services Recruitment Board (BSRB) recruit Probationary Officers for State Bank of India, and its associate banks, and other nationalized banks respectively, through competitive exam comprising of written test followed by an interview. Graduates in any discipline can take these exams. The upper age limit is 28 for SBI and 26 for other nationalized banks.
Private Banks and Foreign Banks advertise their posts in leading newspapers. However in management cadres, positions are largely filled through campus recruitment at management institutions. Fresher's are taken as trainees for a period of six months to one year and thereafter confirmed as Assistant Managers.
Professionals from streams like law, engineering, agriculture also have opening in the management cadre of various banks. Lawyers in banks advise on laws and regulations affecting the operations of the institution. Engineers work with industries and businesses on behalf of the bank. Computer Professionals are also in great demand for planning, programming and maintaining computers and other electronic equipments. Candidates, with a background in agriculture science, are recruited in the area of agri-banking. Postgraduates and doctorates in Economics can find direct recruitment as grade ‘B’ or ‘A’ officer in RBI.
