Banking
RBI data reveals hiring shock: private banks cut jobs in FY25 while PSU, small finance banks add staff
Mumbai/IBNS: Private sector banks reported a decline in their employee strength in the financial year 2025, in contrast to public sector banks, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday.
Despite the fall in private bank staffing, the overall number of employees in India’s banking system increased, driven largely by fresh hiring in small finance banks, the RBI data showed.
The total workforce in the banking sector rose from 17.87 lakh to 18.08 lakh during the year, with small finance banks alone adding around 16,000 employees. Overall, small finance banks have added 1.77 lakh employees, significantly boosting the total staff count.
Public sector banks saw a marginal increase in employee numbers, which rose from 7,56,015 to 7,57,641 during the year.
The State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, reported an increase in its workforce from 2,32,296 to 2,36,226.
In contrast, the number of employees in private sector banks declined from 8,45,407 in FY2024 to 8,38,150 in FY2025.
Among major private lenders, HDFC Bank reported a marginal rise in employee strength, from 2,13,527 to 2,14,521 in FY2025.
However, ICICI Bank emerged as one of the key contributors to the overall decline, with its employee count falling from 1,41,009 in FY2024 to 1,30,957 in FY2025.
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