Central Bank of India is planning a major expansion drive this financial year with new branch openings, workforce additions, subsidiary restructuring and the launch of its international banking unit at GIFT City.
As per PTI news report, Kalyan Kumar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Central Bank of India, said the lender plans to open around 150 branches during the ongoing financial year after receiving board approval for the expansion.
“As far as branch expansion is concerned, we are going to open about 150 branches in the current fiscal,” Kumar said.
The public sector lender currently operates 4,585 branches across 28 states and six Union Territories, with nearly 65% of its network located in rural and semi-urban regions.
Kumar said the bank also plans to strengthen manpower as part of its growth strategy. The lender currently employs around 34,000 people, including nearly 21,000 officers.
The recruitment plan for the year includes around 1,000 probationary officers, 300 marketing officers, 50 forex officers and 15 assistant general manager-level officers across risk management, treasury and forex functions.
The bank has additionally recruited 1,000 credit officers to improve underwriting quality, with the newly inducted employees currently undergoing training.
Central Bank of India is also restructuring operations at its subsidiaries, including Centbank Financial Services Ltd and Cent Bank Home Finance Limited.
While CFSL remains a wholly owned subsidiary, the bank holds a 64% stake in CBHFL.
Kumar said the bank has appointed its General Manager to head CBHFL and deployed several senior officers to strengthen governance and business operations.
“We are working with our team members so that these subsidiaries can really achieve their potential. We are confident decent growth in these subsidiaries would be visible with the changes made this year,” he said.
The lender is also preparing to operationalise its IFSC Banking Unit at GIFT City in the first week of next month. The bank has secured approvals from Reserve Bank of India and International Financial Services Centres Authority for setting up the unit.
According to Kumar, a branch head has already been appointed and operational groundwork is currently underway.
“We would be in a position to open our IBU branch by the first week of next month. The bank would certainly mobilise a good amount of forex business,” he said.
Kumar described the upcoming launch as “a significant milestone in the bank’s growth story” that would help expand international banking operations and specialised customer offerings.
The GIFT City unit will provide the bank access to international financial markets and support corporate clients requiring foreign currency funding solutions.
The bank plans to offer foreign currency loans, trade finance products, treasury services, risk management solutions and other specialised banking facilities through the unit.
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As of 20 May 2026, at 3:30 PM, Central Bank of India share price closed at ₹33.85 per share, reflecting a decline of 0.56% from the previous closing price.
Central Bank of India is simultaneously strengthening its domestic presence and overseas banking capabilities through branch expansion, fresh hiring, subsidiary restructuring and the launch of its GIFT City international banking unit.
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Published on: May 21, 2026, 9:03 AM IST
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