Public sector banks are now planning to appeal in the Supreme Court against the restriction imposed on hiring from business schools. A recent ruling by the Bombay High Court had said restrained campus recruitment for appointment of officers by Central Bank of India.

M V Tanksale, chairman and managing director, Central Bank of India said his bank will appeal in Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court ruling that restrained the bank from recruiting MBAs through selection at campus. He added that the bank is picking up management graduates from campuses for specialised jobs under autonomy granted by the government, which is their owner.

Another top executive with a large public sector bank said while the high court verdict may have been in case of specific bank, it is going to have implications for other public sector banks also. The official added that the issue will be taken up with the Indian Banks Association.

Management institutes are the most preferred destination to recruit talent for the special posts in banks. With good talent available aplenty, the banks do not need to scout for talent elsewhere. Hence, banks prefer to go for campus hiring and pick students, especially from finance and marketing/strategy backgrounds.

"Being listed entities there is expectation to work with private sector efficiency. Public sector entities tend to get the residual talent from management campuses, so for us  it is quite a challenge to do a balancing act," a public sector bank official added.

While the court decision has been bank-specific, other banks have also followed the judgement. Shubhalakshmi Panse, Chairperson & Managing Director, Allahabad Bank said, "We were going to campuses till last year. But there has been some court case because of which we are now not allowed to hire from campuses. That is why we are recruiting through IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection)."

She added that till the final judgement comes, they will be recruiting through IBPS. IBPS is an organisation which helps client organisation recruit personnel for the various roles.

The Institute not only helps to identify talent to be sourced from the market through the recruitment process but also helps to identify employees within organizations with the necessary competencies to cope with roles and responsibilities.

Though management institutes have mostly completed final placement process, they are worried that this decision will affect their students in the coming period.

"Given the slump in the job market, public sector banks were offering good positions with decent packages for students. Now, it is going to be further challenging for students to find a secure job," said the placement head of a Mumbai-based business school.

Human resource consultants also explained that management students hopeful of getting placed with public sector banks would have to find other options. The senior official of a New Delhi based HR consultancy, who is involved in public sector recruitments said that government banks are preferred by students as they offer job security.

"While pay packages may not be very high, these candidates are comforted by the fact that these firms do not have a hire-and-fire policy. Especially when the job market is slow, these banks could have offered excellent career opportunities," the consultant said. (Business Standard)