2 hrs ago
Private Bank Employees Outpace Public Sector Staff in Productivity
The article compares how much banking business each employee helped add.
Private-bank employees added slightly more business than public-bank employees.
Foreign-bank employees added the most business per employee.
Public banks had fewer workers, while private banks hired many more people.
Banks are also using digital payments much more than before.
This makes Saturday branch visits less important for many urban customers.
However, some traders, pensioners, rural families and daily-wage workers still depend on branches.
A five-day workweek could improve employee rest and morale.
Experts say banks would need Saturday hubs and stronger correspondent networks to protect customer access.
Private-bank employees added ₹19 crore in business each on average during FY19-FY26, compared with ₹17 crore for public-sector bank employees.
Foreign-bank employees recorded the highest productivity, adding ₹43 crore in business per employee over the same period.
Private-bank business additions rose 227%, while public-sector bank additions increased 98% between FY19-FY26.
Public-sector bank staff numbers fell 5.6%, while private-bank employee numbers nearly doubled, rising 98%.
Digital payments now dominate banking, but experts warn that reduced Saturday service could disadvantage cash-dependent and rural customers.
- Who
- Employees of private-sector, public-sector and foreign banks; banking employees, customers and industry experts including Vivek Iyer are involved in the debate.
- What
- An analysis compares bank-employee productivity and examines whether India should move to a five-day banking week.
- Where
- The analysis concerns India’s banking sector, including urban, rural and digitally connected customers.
- When
- The productivity comparison covers FY19-FY26; the article was published on October 2, 2026.
- Why
- The five-day-week proposal has prompted questions about productivity, digitisation, employee welfare and continued access to banking services.
Five-Day Banking Advocates
Customer-Access Concerns
Employee welfare and productivity
Five-Day Banking Advocates
An additional day off could improve retention, morale and reduce fatigue, even if it does not significantly change business growth or technology adoption.
Customer-Access Concerns
Reducing working days may create access and service problems if banks do not provide adequate staffing and alternate channels.
Importance of Saturdays
Five-Day Banking Advocates
UPI, ATMs and continuous clearing have made Saturday branch service less important for urban and digitally active customers.
Customer-Access Concerns
Cash-dependent traders, pensioners, daily-wage earners and rural households may still rely on physical branches and have limited access to business correspondents.
Implementation
Five-Day Banking Advocates
Five-day banking could align Indian banking with practices at the Reserve Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation of India and financial markets.
Customer-Access Concerns
The change should be introduced only with safeguards such as rotational Saturday service at hub branches and stronger correspondent networks.
Key facts
- Private-bank productivity
- ₹19 crore of business added per employee during FY19-FY26.
- Public-bank productivity
- ₹17 crore of business added per employee during FY19-FY26.
- Foreign-bank productivity
- ₹43 crore of business added per employee during FY19-FY26.
- Private-bank business growth
- Business additions increased 227% between FY19-FY26.
- Public-bank employee change
- Employee numbers declined 5.6%, or nearly 45,000 workers, between FY19-FY26.
- Digital payments
- By March 2026, 99.8% of payments by volume and 97.85% by value were conducted digitally.
- Technical efficiency
- Public-sector banks’ average technical efficiency rose from 81% in FY19-FY22 to 92% in FY23-FY26.
Quotes
Vivek Iyer
Partner at Grant Thornton Bharat
“an extra day off is unlikely to move the business added or technology adoption numbers meaningfully. Where it can help is in retention, morale and fatigue. In thinly staffed branches, tired employees mean KYC lapses and operational errors, so this is as much a risk-management issue as a welfare one.”
thehindubusinessline.com
“The real test is the customer. UPI, ATMs and continuous clearing have made Saturdays less critical for urban, digitally active customers, but not for cash-dependent traders, pensioners, daily-wage earners and rural households with limited business correspondent coverage.”
thehindubusinessline.com
Sources
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