State Bank of India to hire 12,000 staff and open 250 branches

State Bank of India (SBI) is planning a significant expansion of its workforce and physical presence. Chairman C. S. Setty announced that the bank intends to hire between 11,000 and 12,000 employees across clerical and officer cadres during the current financial year. This recruitment follows a large-scale hiring period in the 2025-26 fiscal year, during which the bank appointed 25,633 individuals.

In addition to recruitment, SBI aims to expand its branch network by adding a net of approximately 200 to 250 new branches annually. The expansion will target commercially active districts and newly developing residential areas. While the bank previously hired 1,500 specialist IT officers, leadership noted that current requirements for large-scale IT recruitment are lower for this period.

Furthermore, SBI and its subsidiary, SBI Capital Markets, are planning to divest approximately 1 per cent of their combined stake in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) through the exchange’s proposed initial public offering.