Some more bank jobs in the private sector will open up shortly for candidates who have passed the common written exam (CWE) (for both officers and clerks) conducted by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).
Mr M. Balachandran, Director, IBPS, said that three private banks (Karur Vysya Bank, Karnataka Bank and Tamilnad Mercantile Bank ) are among the old private banks that intend to use this method. These banks have conveyed their approval, although some formalities remain to be completed. Hitherto, only the public sector banks were on board this process — which will see five exams (two for officers' posts, two for clerical posts and one for specialist officers) conducted every year. Successful candidates are given a scorecard that is valid for one year — and allows them to participate in the recruitment process of various banks.
The Chief Executive of Karur Vysya Bank, Mr Venkatraman, said that the IBPS had been conducting recruitment tests separately for the bank at its request till now. ‘We have recently signed up to become a member of the IBPS common written exam. This has taken KVB to the next level as we will get access to the general pool,' he added.
The bank plans to recruit 800 candidates in the coming year, but for this, it has already sought the help of IBPS for conducting the written test.
‘Personal interview round is now on at various locations. We will have access to the general pool only in the next round,' he added. Like KVB, other banks such as Catholic Syrian Bank, Karnataka Bank and Tamilnad Mercantile Bank have in the past sought the help of IBPS for conducting the written test exclusively for their banks. Now they will get access to the general pool.
Entry-level requirement
CSB has estimated the entry-level requirement at over 350 . ‘We are now in the process of recruiting 100 clerks and 230 officers. The written test for the same was conducted by IBPS. Personal interview and group discussion sessions are on,' said the CSB Chief, Mr V.P. Iswardas.
TMB is planning to add 250 to 300 more people to its team in the next 12 months. It has hired 220 clerks this year.
The Managing Director of Karnataka Bank Ltd, Mr P. Jayarama Bhat, told Business Line that the earlier process of recruitment through separate exams (conducted by IBPS) was time-consuming.
He said, “We used to call about five times the numbers we required — for interview on merit basis. From advertisement to selection was a long exercise, consuming around 6-7 months.”
But now, they get a ready list of eligible candidates. The banks only have to call them for interview based on their score, he said.
(With inputs from A.J.Vinayak, Mangalore)