5 days Banking Update: High Level Committee Meeting on 5-Day Banking will be held on 12 November in Mumbai

On November 12, 2026, in Mumbai, the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) has extended an invitation to representatives of major bank officers' and employees' unions to attend a meeting of the High-Level Committee on five-day banking. The general secretaries of seven bank unions and organizations have been invited by the IBA's HR & Industrial Relations department. The meeting will take place in person at the Committee Room, IBA, World Trade Center, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai, at 10:00 AM.

The invitation has been addressed to the general secretaries of the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA), Indian National Bank Officers’ Congress (INBOC) and Indian National Bank Employees’ Federation (INBEF).

The meeting is significant for bank employees and officers, as the demand for five-day banking has been a major issue in the banking sector. The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) had announced a three-day strike from September 28 to 30, 2026. However, the strike was deferred on the night of September 27, 2026, following assurances that a High-Level Committee would be formed to discuss the implementation of five-day banking. More than a month has passed since then, but no in-person meeting of the committee has taken place so far.

The first online meeting of High level committee was scheduled to be held on 30 September 2026 but it was postponed.

However, this new letter from IBA only confirms the date, time and venue of the upcoming High-Level Committee meeting. It does not specify the agenda, the decisions expected or whether a final decision on implementing five-day banking will be taken during the meeting.

Bank employees and officers will be looking for further developments following the November 12 meeting, particularly regarding the progress of discussions on the long-pending demand for five-day banking.

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Indian Overseas Bank(IOB) Q2 Net Profit Jumps 56%

Indian Overseas Bank(IOB), the state-run lender, reported decent earnings growth in the second quarter of FY27, with a sharp jump in net profit and improvement in asset quality.

The PSU bank reported a net profit of Rs 1,912.42 crore in the September quarter, registering a growth of 56% from Rs 1,226.42 crore in the year-ago period.

Net Interest Income (NII), the difference between interest earned and interest paid, in Q2FY27 grew 26.4% to Rs 3,867 crore from Rs 3,059 crore, year-on-year (YoY).

Pre-Provisions Operating Profit (PPOP) increased 25.7% to Rs 3,016.49 crore from Rs 2,400 crore, YoY.

Provisions during the September quarter rose to Rs 950.08 crore from Rs 672.45 crore in the year-ago period, and from Rs 834.03 crore in the June quarter. 

Asset quality of Indian Overseas Bank improved during the quarter ended September 2026.

Gross Non-Performing Assets (NPA) in Q2FY27 fell 4.14% to Rs 4,114.41 crore from Rs 4,292.26 crore quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). Net NPA decreased 7.6% to Rs 543.58 crore from Rs 588.42 crore, sequentially.

Gross NPA as a percent of gross advances declined to 1.19% from 1.33% QoQ, while Net NPA ratio dropped to 0.16% from 0.18% QoQ.

Total deposits of Indian Overseas Bank in the quarter ended September 2027 increased 20.16% to Rs 4,07,428 crore from Rs 3,39,066 crore, YoY. CASA Deposits increased 20.73% YoY to Rs 1,65,862 crore, while CASA ratio (domestic) improved by 13 bps YoY to 41.14%.

Advances in Q2FY27 were at Rs 3,45,650 crore, registering a growth of 24.35% from Rs 2,77,968 crore, YoY.

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Bank of Maharashtra Q2 Net profit jumps 41%

 

Public sector lender Bank of Maharashtra on Monday  reported a 41.4% year-on-year (YoY) increase in net profit to ₹2,309.6 crore for the second quarter, compared with ₹1,633 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Operating profit rose 30.86% year-on-year to ₹3,369 crore. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, net profit increased 14.33%, operating profit grew 8.07%, and net interest income (NII) rose 4.89%.

Net interest income (NII) rose 22% YoY to ₹3,954.4 crore from ₹3,247.6 crore in the year-ago period.

The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPA) ratio declined to 1.25% as of September 30, 2026, from 1.72% a year earlier and 1.45% as of June 30, 2026. The net NPA ratio fell to 0.12% from 0.18% a year earlier and 0.13% in the previous quarter.

The bank's total global business grew 25.16% YoY to ₹7,05,766 crore as of September 30, 2026, with global deposits rising 21.50% to ₹3,76,407 crore and gross global advances increasing 29.61% to ₹3,29,359 crore.

The provision coverage ratio stood at 98.53%, compared with 98.34% a year earlier and 98.55% in the June quarter.

The bank's cost-to-income ratio improved to 33.73% in Q2 FY27 from 37.10% in Q2 FY26 and 35.04% in the June 2026 quarter. Return on assets (ROA) improved to 2.02% from 1.82% a year earlier.

Domestic net interest margin (NIM) stood at 3.97%, while global NIM was 3.86%. Return on equity (ROE) stood at 26.98% for the quarter.

Net advances grew 30.16% YoY to ₹3,25,641 crore as of September 30, 2026. The bank's retail, agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprises (RAM) business expanded 24.69% during the period.

Retail advances increased 20.91% to ₹94,582 crore, while micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) advances rose 24.69% to ₹58,049 crore. Overseas deposits stood at ₹721 crore, while the domestic credit-deposit ratio was 82.85%.

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Bihar's New Bank Ranking Index: Which Banks on Top?

According to reports published on October 24, 2026, the Bihar Government has introduced a 100-point performance index for banks. The ranking is intended to improve credit delivery and ensure that deposits collected in Bihar support the state's economic development.

Bank	Score	Category
IDFC FIRST Bank	74	Green
HDFC Bank	65	Green
Bank of Baroda	64	Green
Union Bank of India	52	Green
Bank of India	47	Yellow
Punjab National Bank	45	Yellow
State Bank of India	32	Red
Canara Bank	27	Red

The Bihar Government has introduced a 100-point performance assessment index to evaluate banks operating in the state. 

The latest ranking has placed IDFC FIRST Bank at the top with 74 points, while State Bank of India (SBI), India's largest public sector bank, has scored just 32 points and been placed in the Red Zone. 

 

Among public sector banks, Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India have performed relatively well, scoring 64 and 52 points, respectively. However, several major PSU banks, including SBI, Canara Bank and UCO Bank, have been placed in the Red Zone. 

 

The assessment focuses on credit delivery, achievement of Annual Credit Plan targets, credit-deposit ratios and lending under government welfare schemes. While performance-based accountability is important, the rankings also raise questions about the parameters and weightage used to compare banks with different business models, geographical reach and social responsibilities.

 

The key question is whether the index captures the complete contribution of public sector banks to financial inclusion and economic development, alongside their lending performance. Transparent evaluation criteria and a comprehensive assessment of each bank's responsibilities would help make such rankings more meaningful.

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