India's public sector banks shut down 4,093 branches while opening 6,255 new ones between FY2021-22 and FY2025-26, according to fresh government data covering branch networks, employee numbers, and account holders over the five-year stretch.
The figures were shared by the Ministry of Finance's Department of Financial Services in response to a Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question, answered on August 11, 2026, and compiled from data submitted by the Reserve Bank of India and the public sector banks themselves.
Branch Closures Slowing Down as Openings Pick Up Pace
The closure numbers tell an interesting story on their own. PSBs shut 2,564 branches in FY2021-22, the highest single-year figure in the dataset, followed by 700 closures in FY2022-23 and 556 in FY2023-24. That number then dropped sharply, down to just 146 in FY2024-25 and 127 in FY2025-26, suggesting the earlier wave of consolidation and rationalisation has largely tapered off.
Canara Bank recorded the most closures overall, shutting 1,342 branches across the five years, followed by Punjab National Bank with 967 and Union Bank of India with 949.
At the same time, new branch openings have been accelerating. PSBs opened 476 branches in FY2021-22, rising to 932 in FY2022-23, 1,057 in FY2023-24, then jumping to 1,823 in FY2024-25 and 1,967 in FY2025-26, meaning branch expansion nearly quadrupled in pace over the period. State Bank of India led the way with 1,187 new branches, followed by Canara Bank with 975 and Bank of Baroda with 542.
Employee Numbers Dipped, Then Started Recovering
Workforce trends across PSBs moved in the opposite direction for most of this period. Total employee strength stood at 7,84,258 as of March 2021, then steadily declined to 7,76,276 in 2022, 7,67,080 in 2023, and 7,56,015 in 2024. It only turned around slightly in the most recent year on record, edging up to 7,57,641 by March 2025, still below where it stood five years earlier.
Among individual banks, SBI had the largest workforce at 2,36,226 employees as of March 2025, followed by Punjab National Bank with 1,02,746 and Canara Bank with 81,260.
Account Holders Keep Climbing Regardless
Even as branch counts fluctuated and staffing shrank, the number of people banking with PSBs kept rising steadily throughout. Account holders grew from 144.90 crore in March 2022 to 148.92 crore in 2023, 153.97 crore in 2024, 156.60 crore in 2025, and reached 160.16 crore by March 2026.
SBI alone accounted for 53.03 crore of those account holders as of the latest count, with Punjab National Bank at 18.53 crore and Bank of Baroda at 18.93 crore.
A Mixed Picture Overall
Put together, the five-year data paints a somewhat nuanced picture of India's public banking sector: thousands of branches closed, but a larger number opened; overall staffing shrank before a small recent uptick; and through all of it, the customer base kept expanding steadily, crossing 160 crore account holders by early 2026.
FAQs
Q1. How many branches did public sector banks close and open over five years?
PSBs closed 4,093 branches and opened 6,255 new ones between FY2021-22 and FY2025-26.
Q2. Which bank closed the most branches, and which opened the most?
Canara Bank closed the most branches (1,342), while State Bank of India opened the most new ones (1,187).
Q3. How has PSB employee strength changed over this period?
It declined from 7,84,258 in March 2021 to 7,56,015 in March 2024, before a small recovery to 7,57,641 by March 2025.
Q4. How many account holders do public sector banks have as of 2026?
PSBs had 160.16 crore account holders as of March 31, 2026, up from 144.90 crore in March 2022.