Five of State Bank of India or SBI’s associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank became part of the country's largest bank beginning 1 April. That pushed SBI in the ranks of the top 50 banks in the world. Following the merger, the total customer base of SBI increased to 37 crore with a branch network of around 24,000. In a bid to rationalise personnel costs, the combined entity has reduced its workforce by 6,622 in the quarter, owing partly to its Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) and retirements. The bank also said that about 10,600 employees from its administrative offices and branches will be redeployed in other roles.
SBI said that it will redeploy 2,000 employees from its administrative offices. From its branches, 8,616 employees will be redeployed, of which 30 per cent would be reassigned to sales functions. So far, SBI has merged 594 branches and rationalised 122 administrative offices. This in itself is expected to result in savings of over Rs. 1,160 crore annually. SBI has said it expects to complete the branch merger target by the end of September.
"Manpower will go down with the period of time. Around 10 per cent reduction in two years may be a possibility," SBI managing director Rajnish Kumar told news agency Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) in an interview.
He said there would be some actual reduction in headcount along with re-assignment of the roles, but ruled out lay-offs.
"We have offered voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), there would be natural attritions and every year we may not replace head by head (replacement recruitment). Manpower will also reduce as a result of digital initiatives. There will be a combined effect," he added.
"We have offered voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), there would be natural attritions and every year we may not replace head by head (replacement recruitment). Manpower will also reduce as a result of digital initiatives. There will be a combined effect," he added.
It also said that 3,569 of its employees opted for its Voluntary Retirement Scheme in the quarter for which the company paid Rs. 473.4 crore and the scheme would result in savings of Rs. 400 crore annually. Owing to the measures to trim expenses, SBI has cut down staff expenses by 13.3 per cent in the first quarter of this financial year compared to the fourth quarter of 2016-17.
The five associates that were merged are State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT). The bank announced its combined results for the first quarter of 2017-18 last week, reporting a consolidated net profit of Rs. 3,105.35 crore.
SBI also forecast full-year retirements in 2017-18 to be around 15,460 employees
No comments:
Post a Comment