Banks, HFCs on hiring spree amidst rising home loan demand

Banks, housing finance companies and NBFCs are on a hiring spree amidst rising demand for home loans.

Industry experts and players say that hiring for home loan departments is up by at least 20 per cent to 25 per cent in recent months as players look to expand their home loan portfolios in smaller towns and attract more customers through lower home loan rates.

“Hiring has gone up by 22 per cent to 25 per cent by banks, NBFCs and HFCs. This is especially the case in the last three to four months, especially after the second wave of the pandemic. A small portion seasonal in nature but we expect it to be largely sustained for the next few years. The requirement for additional staff is equally in urban and rural markets,” said Amit Vadera, Vice President – Staffing, TeamLease Services.

About 90 per cent of the requirement is in the sales function with starting salaries in the range of ₹15,000 to ₹20,000 along with attractive variable incentives.

Amidst the pandemic and work from home, many people are now looking at their own homes as well as larger homes, leading to the demand for home loans. Banks, HFCs and NBFCs consider the home loan portfolio to perform better as typically borrowers do their best not to default on home loans. They have been offering interest rates as low as 6.4 per cent (such as Union Bank) and are also charting out aggressive expansion plans.

“There has been increased hiring as most small finance banks, HFCs and NBFCs in different segments are expanding their reach to newer locations and need people,” said the head of a housing finance company.

However, he noted that many employees as are moving from one company to leading to higher manpower costs.

“Every company is in a hiring spree. Everybody feels that there will be a huge uptick in housing and other credit demand,” he, however, noted.

Shriram Housing Finance had in September announced that it plans to hire 350 employees in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as part of its expansion plans in the region. ICICI Home Finance had also announced in September that it would hire over 600 people by the end of this calendar year to meet the demand for home loans.

Source : The Hindubusiness Line