'Unfaithful' IIM recruits force SBI to tap B-schools

The State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to change its campus recruitment turf from the Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) to second-rung business schools as more than half of its IIM recruits have quit within the first year of working with the bank.

"This year we have decided to concentrate on the second-rung B-schools such as S P Jain, ICFAI, Jamnalal Bajaj, SCMHRD, K J Somaiya, MDI and XLRI. With what we pay to get the bottom layer of students from the IIMs, we can get the cream from these B-schools," said a bank official.

The country's largest commercial bank offers packages varying from anything between Rs 2.75 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.

"Out of the 20 MBAs we recruited last year from the IIMs, 11 have already left. They gain experience from SBI, and seek new challenges, more money and move to multinational companies and banks. Attracting talent and maintaining it is increasingly becoming a difficult task," he pointed out.

This year SBI has already inducted 10 MBAs from ICFAI and five, specialised in banking and finance, from the National Institute of Bank Management.

The bank, with a work force of over 2 lakh employees, has plans to recruit about 40-50 management trainees in the current year, which is more than double that of last year.

The bank, typically, places management trainees in the departments of treasury, project finance, corporate accounts group, information technology, marketing and personal business.

The compensation packages of MBAs are structured differently from that of the regular 59,700-strong officer cadre.

The management trainees get a better take home salary but do not get benefits such as residential accommodation, which the officers enjoy. In addition to recruitments, the bank also takes in trainees for summer internships.

The bank has taken 30 plus students during the months of October, November and December for a stipend of Rs 8,000 per month.