ANZ Grindlays Bank has around 3,600-odd employees with a little over 800 in the management cadre.

Uncertainty over jobs rules high with changes underway and few alternatives with matching profiles existing in a tight market.

"Nobody knows what is in store here," said an official at ANZ Grindlays Bank. The bank has in recent times taken a decision to get out of areas like loans against shares and upped the ante on the retail front by setting up more automatic teller machines (ATMs). Twenty-three new ATMs have been installed of late. A fresh look at business areas, sources say, may see more chopping of staff.

Another irritant cited is the fact thatthe bank is sans leadership. A replacement to former chief executive officer Mehli Mistry -- who stepped down two months back -- is yet to be announced and chief operational officer, Andrew Ward, is reportedly the charge de affaires

.

Executives at ANZ Investment Bank too are edgy. Ever since former head Rana Kapoor left to set up Rabo India Finance Private Ltd, quite a few have followed his lead. These include Ashok Pandit, Ashok Sood, Alok Gupta and Rakesh Bharthiya. A few are still in the job market.

Many attribute the jitters in ANZ Investment Bank to ANZ banking group chairman John Macfarlane's statement that while personal, retail and corporate banking will drive the bank's future business strategy, investment banking will not be a growth plank. Speculation is rife in some quarters that "it will not be surprising if Macfarlane makes a drastic decision to trim the division or close it down altogether".

However, some point out that Macfarlane's stand is only a pointer as to how business is likelyto grow as opposed to any aversion to investment banking per se.

Historically, executives in the country's largest foreign bank with 56 branches grew in their respective jobs and were never quite shuffled around locally or posted overseas like say, in Citibank. This and time-bound promotions led to a situation wherein the bank in some areas became top-heavy -- a voluntary retirement scheme was offered last fiscal -- which in turn affected the cost structure. All that is sought to be rectified as part of the restructuring exercise being carried out worldwide.

Compounding the issue are rumours of a takeover regarding the Australasian bank. Changes being executed now may not hold good in such a scenario as BankAm's experience has shown.