SBI’s Massive Expansion: 16,000 Hires and 300 New Branches (FY26)
The State Bank of India is gearing up for one of its biggest expansion phases in recent memory. Chairman C.S. Setty has explicitly laid out the plan, signalling strong faith in the demand for physical banking services across India.
The Two Big Moves for FY26
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Massive Hiring Drive: SBI is planning to onboard 16,000 new employees in the current fiscal year (FY26).
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The Kicker: This isn’t a one-off event. Setty stated, “We add these number of people almost each year,” suggesting a continuous annual recruitment drive to strengthen core operations and customer service.
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The Workforce: This adds significant capacity to a bank that employed about 2.36 lakh people as of March 2025, with women making up nearly 28% of the total staff.
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Branch Network Growth: The bank plans to open between 200 to 300 new branches in FY26.
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The Strategy: Setty highlighted the bank uses “very strong analytical model” to look for “white spaces”—new residential colonies, developing townships, and underserved micro-markets where physical banking footfalls are growing. The plan is clearly about not missing any opportunity.
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Focus on Customer Service and Outreach
The expansion isn’t just about numbers; it’s about service delivery, especially in rural and semi-urban areas.
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ATM Support: The subsidiary, State Bank Operations Support Services (SBOSS), is deploying “ATM Mitras” to monitor and maintain over 60,000 ATMs, focusing on uptime, cleanliness, and maintenance.
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Field Sourcing: SBOSS will also deploy nearly 6,000 staff in branches to aid in field sourcing for government schemes, agriculture, and small business loans—a massive push for financial inclusion.
The recruitment process for this fiscal year is “almost getting completed,” with around 16,000 fresh hires expected to join shortly. This continuous investment in manpower reflects SBI’s larger goal of doubling its business size to ₹200 lakh crore over the next 6–7 years.
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Disclaimer: This information is based on the official statement made by SBI Chairman C.S. Setty to the press regarding the bank’s expansion plans for FY26.
