Finance Ministry considering proposal to increase Chief General Managers posts in PSU banks: Report

The finance ministry is considering a proposal to raise the posts of Chief General Managers in public sector banks in view of their increasing business and profitability. As per existing government guidelines, there can be one Chief General Manager (CGM) for four General Managers in a public sector bank (PSB). These guidelines were issued in 2019 and since then there has been marked improvement in performance of PSBs despite the pandemic, sources said.

Business of PSBs have witnessed significant growth and consequently they booked record profit, sources said, adding the Department of Financial Services under the Finance Ministry is reviewing CGM positions for achieving the next level of growth by PSBs.

The decision to relax the guidelines would be taken after thorough examination and considering the need for furthering their business expansion, sources said.

The CGM post was created in 2019, after the merger of 10 nationalised banks to four large lenders. CGMs act as an administrative and functional layer between the General Manager and the Executive Director.

Besides, PSBs have also requested the Department of Financial Services that boards should be allowed to decide on the number of posts, as per their business needs.

The existing ratio of GM/DGM/AGM is 1:3:9, which is based on 2016 position, and needs to be reviewed for better functional control," a senior executive of a nationalised bank said, adding this will help in improving retention of senior officers.

There are nearly 4 lakh officers serving in 12 state-owned banks.

Public sector banks' cumulative profit crossed Rs 1.4 lakh crore in the financial year ended March 2024, recording a growth of 35 per cent over the previous year on a high base of Rs 1 trillion.

The 12 PSBs together had earned a net profit of Rs 1,04,649 crore in 2022-23.

Out of the total profit of Rs 141,203 crore earned during the FY24, market leader State Bank of India (SBI) alone contributed over 40 per cent of the total earnings, as per the published numbers on exchanges.

SBI earned a profit of Rs 61,077 crore, 22 per cent higher than the previous financial year (Rs 50,232 crore).

In percentage terms Delhi-based Punjab National Bank had the highest net profit growth of 228 per cent to Rs 8,245 crore, followed by Union Bank of India with a 62 per cent rise to Rs 13,649 crore and Central Bank of India with a 61 per cent increase to Rs 2,549 crore.