Canara Bank has embarked on a massive recruitment drive and plans to rope in 4,000 employees by the second quarter of 2011.
Chairman and Managing Director S Raman said: "we have initiated the process of recruiting new employees. Of the 4,000, 50 per cent would be recruited in the clerical cadre".
About 1,100 would be picked up in specialised segments like CAs, agricultural graduates, IT and MBA graduates. The recruitment drive will be completed in a phased manner and would culminate in second quarter of next year, he said.
The bank's current staff strength is 43,000, Raman added.
As of now, the bank has 2,100 ATMs and is likely to go up to 4,000 in the next couple of years, Raman said, adding the bank would open two overseas branches at Manama and Qatar, in addition to another four currently in London, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Leicester.
Its overseas business contributes about 3.5 per cent to the bank's overall business. "We are seeking RBI's permission to open branches at Johannesberg and few cities in the US," Raman said.
The bank's Gross NPA, which was 1.6 per cent in September 2009, has been brought down to 1.49 per cent at Rs 2,636 crore in September this year.
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