Career in Banking in India
Career in Banking in India
The demand for taking up a career in banking, among young aspirants is rising than ever before!
For a developing country like India, banks are considered as the backbone of the country’s economy. The global turmoil in the financial segment that occurred a few years ago had the least effect on our country’s banking sector because of our sound banking and financial system. The banking sector in India is growing at a rapid rate and is among one of the fastest growing industry vertical. The rapid advancements and growth in the banking sector has paved way for many banking career opportunities. The banking sector in India is gearing itself and there are much more private banks to come in the near future. All of these bring in huge career opportunities for those who aspire to become future bankers.
Why Opt for a Banking Career?
Bank jobs are backed up by a huge wealth of diversity and almost every vacancy created in a bank incorporates some sort of banking element such as law, accounting, investment banking, taxes, public relations, customer relationship management etc. Moreover a career in banking is international in nature and a number of international and private banks set up in the country have opened up opportunities for the deserving candidates.
For beginners, the banking sector provides an excellent opportunity to develop an understanding of the global economy. It paves the way for identifying various challenges in the marketplace and provides tremendous opportunities globally.
Types of Banks in India:
The banks in India can be categorized as following.
- Commercial Banks: The major role of the commercial banks is to enable businesses and entrepreneurs with the financial services. Commercial banks are further categorized into the following.
a). Private Sector Banks
b). Public Sector Banks
c). Regional Banks - Co-operative Banks: Co-operative banks mostly benefit the rural people like farmers, small scale industries etc. These are controlled and managed by the co-operative societies.
These can be further categorized into
a) State co-operative Banks
b) Central co-operative Banks
c) Primary Agriculture Credit societies - Investment Banks and specialized banks: These provide financial assistance to its customers and provide necessary support like foreign exchange, sales of equities, foreign trading etc. to its customers.
Most of these banks offer better packages today and give a performance and experience based promotion. In case of public sector banks, professionals like engineers, doctors, MBAs and lawyers are appointed based on the results in All India Recruitment Exam. Probationary officers (Bank PO) are also recruited in public sector banks based on the Common Written Examination (CWE) conducted by the IBPS. It is estimated that public sector banks are to employ more than 7 lakh people in the near future.
Skills required for a Banking career:
- Customer Dealing
- .People with patience
- People good with numbers and accounting
- Good Analytical Skills
Preparing for a Career in Banking:
There are various positions available in banking sector out of which the two major ones are clerks and probationary officers (P.O.)/ management trainees (M.T.)
Recruitment of clerks in banks
Age limit: 18 years to 28 years
Educational qualification: 60% aggregate marks in 12th
The qualifying examination is in the form of written examination and it involves multiple choice questions. It consists of a test of reasoning ability and numerical aptitude, test of clerical aptitude, test of English language and test of general awareness The candidates will be selected based on the final merit list and this is jotted down based on the aggregate of marks in written examination and interview.
Recruitment in Officer Cadre
Mostly officer cadre is filled after promotions in clerk positions and at times to meet the rising demands direct recruitment are also done. The minimum age group for entry into officer cadre is 21 years and maximum is 26 years or above as decided by the individual banks. Educational qualification of 55% marks is required in any graduate program from a UGC recognized university. The qualifying test for probationary officers includes data interpretation and logical reasoning, general awareness, English and verbal reasoning.
Other Career Options in Banking Sector
Other opportunities available in banking sector are financial managers, Bill and account collectors, bank tellers, loan officers, financial service representatives, book keeping and audit clerks.