Around 40,000 vacancies have been created in government-owned banks till now owing to retirements, resignations and expansion of business. The SBI group had 19000 vacancies, followed by mid-size banks like Syndicate Bank and Central bank which have 30,000 vacancies each.

The current employee strength of all public sector banks is 6,72,000 out of which the SBI group has about 200,000 employees. Punjab National Bank and Canara bank do not have any vacancies right now.

"Retirements and opening of new branches and business growth are the key reasons for these vacancies. Branch expansion is happening at a much faster pace than the selection process. Banks are trying to fill these posts but getting the right talent is a challenge," said the chairman of a state-run bank.

Indian Bank, UCO Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India also have over 1,000 vacancies each.

A top banker said that recruitment in a public sector bank was a continuous process and the entire selection process by the Institute of Banking Selection (IBPS) took a long time. Too many vacant posts and delay in recruitment affects growth and performance of banks to some extent," he added.

In 2008-09, about 55,000 people were recruited by public sector banks. IBPS had initially estimated recruitment of over 30,000 people in 2009-10. However, this figure may go up because banks have to fill existing posts, as well as new vacancies arising out of superannuation and expansion of business over the next three months.

SBI is planning to hire 13,000 persons in the current financial year. Bank of Baroda, United Bank of India, Andhra Bank and Indian Bank are planning to recruit 3,000, 1,500, 1,000 and 700 people, respectively, at various levels.