The Number That Should Alarm Every Banker and Aspirant
Punjab National Bank called over 700 clerical cadre candidates for document verification — candidates who had already cleared the IBPS Clerk examination, one of the most competitive banking exams in India.
Only 25 showed up.
That is not a typo. Out of more than 700 shortlisted candidates, barely 25 bothered to come for their own joining process. This staggering figure was shared on social media by AIPNBOF General Secretary Shri Krishna Kumar, and it has set off alarm bells across India’s banking community.
📢 Source — Direct Statement by AIPNBOF General Secretary Shri Krishna Kumar:
All India Punjab National Bank Officers Federation (AIPNBOF), shared on June 14, 2026. He stated — “In the second list we have invited 700 plus IBPS empanelled clerical cadre people for documents verification, only 25 turned up. This is a very strange and disturbing phenomenon — people are not reporting for banking jobs and consequently serving bankers are suffering and customer service is adversely affected in the public sector banks.”
What Is Actually Happening at PNB Right Now?
On the positive side, around 450 candidates selected through the IBPS Clerk examination are expected to join Punjab National Bank shortly, with their training likely to begin around June 22, 2026. After completing the training programme, these new recruits will be allotted circles and posted to branches for regular duties.
But the bigger story is what is happening in parallel — a growing number of selected candidates are simply choosing not to join.
Why Are Selected Candidates Refusing to Join?
Union leaders have called this a “strange and deeply disturbing” trend. People who worked for months — sometimes years — to clear one of India’s toughest banking exams are walking away from the job offer itself.
The reasons are not hard to find.
1. Toxic Work Culture Is No Longer a Secret
PNB has recently been in the news for forcing staff to sit in branches till 9 PM and 10 PM at night due to mandatory day-end checks for CKYC and loan recovery processes. This is not an isolated incident — it is a systemic pattern across several PSU banks where branch staff are routinely expected to work well beyond official hours without compensation.
Word spreads fast among banking aspirant communities on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Reddit. When current PNB employees openly talk about sitting in branches till 10 PM, naturally the next batch of candidates thinks twice before joining.
2. SSC and Other Government Jobs Are More Attractive
Candidates who clear IBPS are typically high-performers — they have the aptitude and perseverance to crack competitive exams. Many of them are simultaneously preparing for SSC CGL, RBI Grade B, UPSC, and other government positions that offer better work-life balance, cleaner work culture, and in many cases comparable or better pay.
Bank jobs, once considered the gold standard of government employment, are losing that position rapidly.
3. Salary vs. Workload Equation Is Broken
A clerical staff member joining PNB today starts at a basic pay that has seen revision under the 12th Bipartite Settlement — but the workload has multiplied without a proportional increase in compensation. Financial inclusion mandates, government scheme targets, digital banking responsibilities, and branch operations — all landing on the same set of hands with no additional staffing.
4. The Manpower Crisis Is Self-Reinforcing
Here is where it gets deeply problematic. When candidates do not join, existing staff face even higher workloads. Higher workloads lead to more employees leaving or burning out. More exits mean more recruitment drives. More recruitment drives produce candidates who hear about the culture and don’t join. The cycle repeats.
The Bigger Picture — This Is Not Just a PNB Problem
This joining crisis at PNB is part of a much larger pattern playing out across India’s public sector banking system.
An RTI response from State Bank of India dated June 4, 2026 revealed that 1,655 SBI employees resigned in FY 2025-26 alone — including 280 Scale I officers, 125 Scale II officers, and 1,158 clerical staff. These are not people who retired. These are people who chose to leave.
When existing employees are leaving AND new recruits are refusing to join, the message from the ground is clear: something is fundamentally broken in how India’s public sector banks manage their people.
What Needs to Change
The solution is not simply recruiting more people. Bringing in new joiners into an unchanged culture only means more people will eventually leave — or in this case, not join at all.
What is urgently needed:
- Strict enforcement of working hour norms — no branch should routinely keep staff beyond 6 PM without proper compensation and written authorisation
- Immediate notification of the 5-day banking week — agreed in the 12th Bipartite Settlement in December 2023, it remains unimplemented in June 2026
- Transparent workload distribution — financial inclusion and government scheme targets must come with additional staffing, not just additional pressure on existing staff
- Honest exit interview data — banks must publish why people are leaving, not bury it in RTI responses
For Banking Aspirants Reading This
If you are preparing for IBPS Clerk or SBI Clerk — this article is not meant to discourage you. PSU bank jobs still offer job security, social respect, and a career with genuine purpose.
But go in with your eyes open. Understand your rights as an employee. Know the bipartite settlement norms. Know what targets are reasonable and what constitutes harassment. Connect with bank employee unions and communities before you join.
And if you have already received a joining call — evaluate carefully, speak to current employees in the bank, and make an informed decision.
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