Local lenders battle to recruit staff

Local lenders battle to recruit staff

New banks and operational lenders’ branches have caused a huge demand for qualified staff, industry sources said.

“The number of employees in Ho Chi Minh City-based banks was about 14,000 in 2006. Last year’s [2007] figure was 2-3 times higher as around 1,000 bank branches were put into operation,” the State Bank of Vietnam, HCMC branch director Ho Huu Hanh said. At present, there are five state-owned banks, 34 joint-stock, five joint-venture, and 34 branches of foreign lenders. But the central bank has reportedly approved the establishment of four new lenders, FPT, Bao Viet, Lien Viet, and PetroVietnam, some sources said. One of the four was reportedly recruiting a chief executive with a monthly salary of US$15,000. Similarly, despite not being operational, Vietnam Industry Bank was seeking a chief executive with a monthly salary of VND100 million ($6,257), an official of the central bank revealed. Nguyen Quoc Sy, vice chief executive of the newly-founded Western Bank in HCMC, said, “Local lenders have been in a battle for employees since last year. There is a shortage of high-position staff and even regular employees. “Until recently the director of a local bank’s branch was required to be at least 40 years old. But the requirement has been reduced to 30 due to the lack of qualified employees, creating chances for young people.” Sy said salaries and bonuses were crucial factors to keeping staff. “Salaries and bonuses for people working in the banking sector are increasing the fastest compared with other fields,” he added. Reported by Thanh Xuan