IIBM to Start One Year Post graduate diploma course in banking

Guwahati, Sep 1 : What is expected to bring large pool of students from Northeast to the banking industry, the Indian Institute of Bank Management (IIBM) will soon roll out a one year post graduate diploma course in Banking and finance to equip the students of the region for making inroads in the banking industry.

According to IIBM in next few years banking industry will have a whooping manpower requirement of 10 lakh.

This is due to the aggressive expansion plan of the banks and large number of employees due to retire.

RBI has set a target of opening open at least 200 branches in this fiscal year in Northeast India. Following which several banks are in massive expansion mode the region.

Malay Mukerjee, Executive director of Central Bank of India (CBI) who was in Guwahati recently told ET, "Managerial staff in Northeast generally comes from outside the region. They stay here for two or three and get posted elsewhere. This hampers the continuity."

So it is decided to train the people here. He said banks are on expansion spree in the region. "The Central bank is planning to add another 30 branches by end of this fiscal year. Presently we have 170 branches spread across the seven states of the region. By 2014, we will also have 200 onsite ATMs."

B. B. Sangma, Director, IIBM Guwahati added, "We are working on mechanism where pass out from this course could be directly recruited in the banks. The intake of students in the course would be around 40."

Sangma said, "We are also in talks so that students get loan facility form the bank for studying the course. The course will include two month internship in a bank. Presently the number of Northeasters in managerial level staff of the bank is very less."

Canara Bank is planning to add another 33 branches by end of this fiscal year. Executive director of the bank, P.S Rawat who was in Guwahati recently said, "From 67 branches we want to have 100. We are looking to participate in government sponsored programmes in a big way in Northeast India and aggressively looking for bankable schemes in big industry, MSME sectors. The bank is focused on expansion in the Northeast India."

United bank of Bank of India is planning to set up at least 500 outlets by November this year. This will include 200 ultra small branches, 200 ATMS and 100 branches. Together with its Regional rural banks, UBI's business mix in Northeast India is around Rs 15000 Crore. The bank is targeting business mix of Rs 20, 000 Crore by the end of this fiscal year.

Similarly Central Bank's business mix till July this year stands at Rs 6500 Crore. The year on year (y-o-y) for the same period in comparison to last fiscal year is 35 percent. The bank has added 21 branches in last five month.