Banking on Jobs..

Citi, BofA & JPMorgan to outsource $5 bn of IT and back office projects to India - The Economic Times: "America’s top banks including Citigroup, JP Morgan and Bank of America are set to outsource IT and back office projects worth nearly $5 billion this year to India, as they seek to lower costs of complying with new regulations and integrate banking systems.

According to at least a dozen senior executives at Tata Consultancy Services , Infosys, Wipro , HCL and Cognizant, apart from outsourcing consultants advising these banks, new investments in compliance and regulatory norms, apart from ongoing integration with acquired assets are among top drivers for this spend.

While Bank of America is merging its systems with Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase is driving its integration with several acquired units including Washington Mutual. Having sold its captive operations to TCS and Wipro, Citigroup is now seeing more opportunities to cut costs through offshoring. Mid-tier banks such as Wells Fargo, which acquired Wachovia is now attempting to drive the integration from cheaper overseas locations such as India. Morgan Stanley is also driving IT integration with Smith Barney by outsourcing projects to India-based vendors."

MNCs lining up at B-schools with 20% higher salaries, more offers - The Economic Times: "ndia’s top business schools anticipate that 2011 will be the best year yet for campus placements as recruiters beat a path to their doors in search of the cream of management graduates. Prospective employers are expected on B-school campuses in larger numbers, hiring many more students and paying a lot more than in the past, a pointer to the improving economic health of Western economies, particularly financial firms and banks.
At IIM-Ahmedabad, the mainstay recruiters — investment banks and consulting firms — kicked off the placements season on Saturday. Their hiring is up and they are offering salaries that are up to a fifth higher than last year, those involved in the process say. Placements at IIM-Bangalore will begin on March 5, to be followed by IIM-Calcuttta and Lucknow.

The confidence is a remarkable turnaround, for just two years ago even IIM-A was forced to extend its placements window and struggled to pair all its students with employers. Campus recruitments at the IIMs and other top B-schools are closely watched because they are a barometer of corporate confidence. In good years, like 2008, which was the best for placements so far, hiring and salaries rise. But in bad years, like 2009, many recruiters shy away from campuses.

“Multinationals are expanding. They spent two years putting their own house in order post slowdown. Now there is more work for management consultants as regulators are pushing for stronger risk management mechanisms,” says Atul Khosla, the India head of Oliver Wyman. "