State Bank of India intends to hire about 12,000 personnel and add around 250 new branches to its network in the ongoing financial year, according to CS Setty, chairperson of the country’s biggest lender.
“In terms of recruitment, I think we would be looking at around 11,000-12,000 appointments across both clerical and officer cadres this year. This number may vary depending on retirements and emerging requirements, but I expect we should close the year with around 12,000 recruitments,” he told PTI in an interaction. “Last year, we have done fairly large recruitment because we took 1,500 specialist IT officers. This year, we do not need such a large number on the IT (information technology) side.”
ALSO READ: Which Banks Win From The FCNR-B Boom: ICICI, SBI, HDFC Bank All Post Strong Hauls
As of March 2026, SBI employed over 2.45 lakh people, making it one of the biggest employers in India. According to the bank’s FY26 annual report, SBI hired 4,640 officers, 19,340 associates and 1,653 contractual workers in 2025–2026, for a total of 25,633 recruits.
On the branch expansion side, Setty said that even if they have a large network there is still some white space in many areas, be it new colonies are coming up or even in commercially active districts, the bank’s presence can be improved. “We also are looking at rationalisation of some of the branches, which means that our number broadly will be growing by maybe 200 to 250 per year on the net side,” he added.
About stake dilution in the National Stock Exchange, Setty said that SBI and its subsidiary, SBI Capital Markets Ltd, together plan to dilute up to 1 % stake through the exchange’s proposed Rs 30,000-crore initial public offering.
“We are participating in that divestment. We propose to divest 0.65% and 0.35% by SBI Capital Markets because both of us hold the stake. So together, about 1% as an SBI group… it could be less depending on any other shareholders joining,” he said.
SBI currently holds a 3.23% stake in the NSE, while SBI Capital Markets owns 4.33% in the country’s largest stock exchange.
Last week, the NSE received regulatory approval for the long-awaited Rs 30,000-crore IPO, which could potentially be the country’s biggest-ever yet.
The NSE IPO will surpass Hyundai Motor India’s Rs 27,858.6-crore listing in 2024 as well as LIC of India’s Rs 20,557.3-crore offering in 2022. It will also dwarf Paytm parent One97 Communications Ltd’s Rs 18,300-crore (2021), Tata Capital’s Rs 15,511.9-crore (2025) and Coal India’s Rs 15,200-crore (2010) listing.
He clarified that there is no monetisation plan for other subsidiaries in the immediate future.
ALSO READ: India’s GDP Growth: SBI’s Soumya Kanti Ghosh Flags Misleading Claims Based On Old Series
In July, SBI and Amundi, a foreign partner with its headquarters in Paris, diluted around 10% of SBI Mutual Fund, including pre-IPO shares. With 41.66 subscriptions, the country’s largest investment house’s Rs 11,675-crore monetisation was a major success. Following the listing, Amundi’s stake dropped to 32.63%, down 3.7% and SBI’s fell to 55.56% from 61.86%.
(With PTI Inputs)