Federal Bank on recruitment drive

Kerala-based Federal Bank Ltd will recruit close to 1,500 probationary officers over the next one-two years to make good the retirements that are likely to take place and to create resource to meet its expansion targets.

Close to 1,000 employees of the bank are set to retire in the next two years, Mr Abraham Chacko, Executive Director, Federal Bank, said.

“The banking industry had witnessed massive recruitments during the post-nationalisation period. A majority of these employees are due for retirement over the next two-three years. This is a huge challenge for the industry,” Mr Chacko said at a banking event organised by the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce here on Wednesday.

Federal Bank has already recruited about 1,500 probationary officers over the last one-and-a-half years. Recruitments have to happen to create adequate resources and achieve the bank's ambitious growth target over the next few years, he pointed out.

Growth plans

“We are looking at scaling up our branch network from 825 at present to 1,000 by December 2012. We need manpower to man these branches,” Mr Chacko said.

Federal Bank aims to achieve 20 per cent growth in advances and deposits this fiscal. Large companies account for almost 40 per cent of the bank's total advances, while small and medium enterprises and retail account for about 28 per cent each.

The bank, which currently has one representative office in Abu Dhabi, has also applied for an offshore banking unit in Dubai. “We have applied to the RBI and we hope to receive its nod by early next year,” he said.