SBI to hire around 16,000 people each fiscal, open 200-300 branches in FY26: Chairman

Group 1 - The State Bank of India (SBI) plans to hire 16,000 employees in the current financial year and aims to continue hiring a similar number each fiscal year to support business expansion and enhance customer service [1][4] - SBI intends to open 200-300 new branches in the current fiscal year to fill "white spaces" in its network, targeting areas where it currently lacks presence [1][3][4] - The bank aims to double its business size to ₹200 lakh crore within 6-7 years, up from ₹100 lakh crore as of Q2FY26 [2] Group 2 - As of March 2025, SBI's workforce consisted of 236,000 employees, with women making up approximately 28% of the total employee base [5] - SBI's employee costs increased by 11% year-on-year to ₹36,837 crore in H1FY26 [5] - The bank plans to utilize its subsidiary, State Bank Operations Support Services (SBOSS), to assist in rural and semi-urban areas, employing local residents to monitor over 60,000 ATMs [6]