Mumbai/IBNS, Dec. 30 -- Private sector banks reported a decline in their employee strength in the financial year 2025, in contrast to public sector banks, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday.

The total workforce in the banking sector rose from 17.87 lakh to 18.08 lakh during the year, with small finance banks alone adding around 16,000 employees. Overall, small finance banks have added 1.77 lakh employees, significantly boosting the total staff count.

Public sector banks saw a marginal increase in employee numbers, which rose from 7,56,015 to 7,57,641 during the year.

In contrast, the number of employees in private sector banks declined from 8,45,407 in FY2024 to 8,38,150 in FY2025.

However, ICICI B...