The Joka campus was wearing a smile on Wednesday, after weeks of furrowed brows, as the I-banks of the world trooped into the Indian Institute of Management for the slot zero of summer placements.

“We were expecting a good comeback from the investment banks this year and we have not been disappointed,” Paul Savio, the external relations cell secretary at IIM-Calcutta, said after the draw of stumps on day one.

Summer placements, the recruitment process for the two-month-long summer internship, has always been the happy hunting ground for investment banks. But with the financial world in turmoil, the number of offers had nosedived last year.

Now, slot zero, the most prestigious window of recruitment drawing investment banks and consulting companies, is poised to set things right. With 80 per cent of the slot zero offers coming in from I-banks, it is back to business as usual for the finance fraternity at IIM Calcutta.

“All the investment banks have made more offers than last year and that is indeed a promising trend,” said Savio. Royal Bank of Scotland topped the offer charts on day one with 11, followed by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital and UBS. Lehman Brothers, one of the largest recruiters from IIM Calcutta was not missed as Nomura, Japan’s largest brokerage firm that took over the finance firm after it collapsed in mid-2008, came calling. The financial biggies are all offering profiles in investment banking divisions, global markets, equity research, sales and corporate banking, with postings in New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and more. Morgan Stanley, another regular, recruited from the Joka campus “exclusively” for its London desk.

The day one of slot zero also saw private equity firms playing a star role. “We had Wall Street private equity firm Mount Kellett, a first time recruiter in India, recruit exclusively from IIM Calcutta,” said Savio.

Some of the world’s leading consulting firms — McKinsey, Bain, the Boston Consulting Group and AT Kearney — also made their presence felt by recruiting three to five students each.

A good opening to slot zero has raised hopes but with 408 students to be placed this year against last year’s 300, it is early days yet. “Summers is usually an indication of final placements but it is still too early to predict how it will go,” said Savio, mirroring the wait-and-watch mood among 300 final-year students.

Day Two of slot zero on Thursday will see marketing and general management firms tabling their offers at Joka.