PSBs see surge in staff productivity as business per employee rises

The number of employees in most PSBs has declined over the years. Bank of India witnessed a consistent decline, falling from 52,374 in FY23 to 50,944 in FY24, and further to 50,564 in FY25

This copy has been updated with revised BPE data for SBI.

    The Business Per Employee (BPE) across public sector banks (PSBs) has improved significantly over the years, reflecting rising employee productivity and greater operational efficiency.

 

According to data compiled by Business Standard from the latest annual reports of PSBs, State Bank of India’s (SBI’s) BPE rose to ₹37.37 crore in 2024-25 (FY25) from ₹34.10 crore in FY24, Punjab National Bank’s (PNB’s) increased to ₹26.86 crore from ₹23.84 crore, and Bank of Baroda’s (BoB’s) reached ₹32.53 crore from ₹29.31 crore.

 

The increase in BPE indicates that each employee is generating more business than before — driven by cost rationalisation, digital adoption, and better resource utilisation — signalling a stronger foundation for sustainable growth and profitability.

 

“There are two reasons for this increase. One, the banks have been improving processes, including sales initiatives, with interventions such as technology, digitalisation and training. This is leading to steady growth in productivity. Two, with general growth in economy and per capita income, the underlying transaction sizes also grow, leading to better outcomes," said Sanjay Agarwal, senior director at CARE Ratings Ltd.

 

UCO Bank’s BPE increased to ₹24.35 crore in FY25 from ₹20.93 crore in FY24. Similarly, Canara Bank’s BPE rose to ₹29.30 crore in FY25 from ₹25.97 crore the previous year. Bank of India (BoI) also reported an improvement, with its BPE climbing to ₹28.21 crore from ₹25.87 crore year-on-year (Y-o-Y). 

 

However, Aggarwal cautioned that banks should ensure that the race for higher productivity does not lead to increasing the distance from customers or unbearable workload expectations from the staff.

 

The number of employees in most PSBs has declined over the years. BoI witnessed a consistent decline, falling from 52,374 in FY23 to 50,944 in FY24, and further to 50,564 in FY25.

 

Canara Bank also saw a downward trend, with its employee count reducing from 84,978 in FY23 to 82,638 in FY24, and then to 81,260 in FY25. The headcount of BoB also saw gradual decline from 76,513 in FY23 to 74,227 in FY24 and 73,742 in FY25.

 

In contrast, SBI, the largest lender, showed a slight recovery in total number of employees to 236,226 in FY25 after a decline from 235,858 in FY23 to 232,296 in FY24.

 

However, branches of all PSBs have increased, according to their annual reports. For example, SBI expanded its number of branches from 22,405 in FY23 to 22,542 in FY24, and further to 22,937 in FY25.

 

“With greater reliance on system-driven processes, there is a growing risk of over-automation or dilution of credit appraisal standards, particularly in segments like top-up loans and unsecured lending, as flagged by the Reserve Bank of India. The improved BPE is a good outcome, but banks must guard against slipping into a cycle of volume-driven growth without proportional strengthening of credit monitoring, customer service, and compliance frameworks,” said Mukesh Chand, who serves as a senior counsel at Economic Laws Practice (ELP).