Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, and the guidance of the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, major banking reforms like Implementation of Enhance Access and Service Excellence (EASE), enactment of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), putting in place a robust Governance Framework, setting up of National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd. (NARCL), amalgamation of PSBs among others., were undertaken in last few years.

The review meetings chaired by the Union Finance Minister facilitated deliberations on a range of current and emerging issues with the Chief Executives of PSBs. The reforms and regular monitoring have addressed many concerns and challenges, and resulted in setting-up enhanced systems and processes for credit discipline, recognition and resolution of stressed assets, responsible lending, improved governance, financial inclusion initiatives, technology adoption etc.  These measures have led to a sustained financial health and robustness of banking sector as a whole which is reflected in the current performance of the PSBs as following:

• The aggregate business stood at Rs. 236.04 lakh crore (11% YoY growth).
• Global credit and deposit portfolio grew by 12.9% and 9.5% YoY, and stood at Rs. 102.29 lakh crore and Rs. 133.75 lakh crore respectively.
• The Operating and Net Profit for H1FY25 was Rs. 1,50,023 crore (14.4% YoY growth) and Rs.85,520 crore (25.6% YoY growth).
• The Gross and Net NPA stood at 3.12% and 0.63% as on Sep-24 (Gross and Net NPA declined by 108 bps and 34 bps respectively YoY).
• The Capital to RWA assets ratio (CRAR) stood at 15.43% in Sep-24 against regulatory requirement of 11.5%.
• PSBs have also shown significant progress in adopting new age technologies like AI/ cloud/ Blockchain etc., upgradation of existing digital infrastructure, putting in place necessary systems/ controls to tackle cyber security risks and taking multiple steps to provide best-in-class customer services.

Banking reforms strengthen public sector banks' resilience, improving credit discipline, asset resolution, governance and capital adequacy. Policy measures for public sector banks emphasise strengthening credit discipline, governance and resolution through EASE, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, a Governance Framework, an Asset Reconstruction vehicle, and bank amalgamations, supported by regular high-level review. These interventions aim to improve stressed-asset recognition and resolution, responsible lending, financial inclusion, technology adoption and cyber controls, yielding stronger capital adequacy, lower nonperforming assets, higher credit and deposit growth, and improved profitability for PSBs.