While global banks hit by the financial turmoil are going for a massive reduction in their employee base, for Indian banks it is now time to expand their human resources to undertake their expansion plans.

MV Nair, chairman and managing director, Union Bank of India, said the bank has plans to recruit 5,000 staff, including 4,000 at the officer level, by the end of the current fiscal. Earlier, State Bank of India, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda had announced similar plans to recruit more staffers to manage their growing operations. The additional staffers are necessary to manage the new branches the bank wants to open in the next few months. The bank has got the approval for the opening of 549 branches, including 10 specialised branches like industrial finance business and cash management services.

Talking to the media on the sidelines of the announcement of UBI’s launch of the mobile banking facility ‘U Mobile’ in Mumbai on Friday, Nair said, “We got the approval from the RBI for the opening of 549 new branches just a week ago.:

Disclosing a host of other initiatives of his bank, Nair said the bank will have nearly 2,500 ATMs — as against the existing 1,500 — by the fiscal-end.