Punjab National Bank (PNB) is facing criticism from employees over the increasing use of day-end checks in branches. According to reports and feedback received from employees, day-end checks related to CKYCR uploads, loan recovery, and other compliance requirements have become very common, forcing branch staff to remain in offices long after official working hours.
Employees claim that day-end checks are often imposed when certain targets or compliance requirements are not met. For example, if a loan borrower fails to deposit the required amount in a loan account, Circle Office officials may ask branch staff to contact the customer, visit the customer’s residence, and persuade them to make the payment. If the loan account remains unpaid, a day-end check may be imposed, preventing branch staff from completing branch closure and leaving for home. Employees allege that in some cases they are required to stay in branches until 9 PM or even 10 PM.
One PNB employee expressed frustration over the situation, saying, “We are punished if a loan customer does not deposit money. We did not sanction the loan. We have called the customer multiple times and visited them several times. If the customer still does not deposit money, what is our fault? Why are we forced to sit in branches until 9 PM or 10 PM?”
According to employees, such practices have created growing dissatisfaction among the workforce. Many feel that employees are being held responsible for factors beyond their control. Some employees believe that declining staff morale is one of the reasons behind PNB slipping to the third position among public sector banks. They argue that banks are ultimately run by employees and that no organization can achieve sustainable growth if its workforce remains dissatisfied.
Another major concern relates to CKYCR (Central KYC Records Registry) compliance. PNB has been directing branches to upload KYC records of customers to the CKYCR portal. Employees say that the bank has also instructed branches to upload CKYCR records of older accounts. With PNB having a customer base of around 20 crore, employees argue that it is practically impossible to complete CKYCR uploads for every customer within a short period.
At present, employees say they are often required to remain in branches until CKYCR-related pendencies are cleared. Earlier, the effective cut-off time was reportedly around 7 PM, while now branches are being pushed to complete the work much earlier, resulting in increased pressure on staff.
PNB recently issued a circular stating that the large pendency of CKYCR uploads has become a matter of serious concern and has also been flagged by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Despite continuous follow-up with field offices, a significant number of KYC records are still pending for upload.
The bank stated that a day-end check system is already operational for individual customer IDs where Re-KYC has been completed but the documents have not been uploaded to CKYCR on the same day. Similarly, for newly opened customer IDs, the day-end check becomes effective on a T+1 basis if KYC documents are not uploaded to CKYCR.
To tighten compliance, PNB has now restricted the authority of Circle Offices to skip day-end checks. Under the new instructions, a Circle Office (ZC User) can skip the day-end check for any branch or office under its jurisdiction only three times in a month. From the fourth instance onwards, approval from the competent authority at the Zonal Office will be required, and only the Zonal Office ZC User will be authorized to skip the day-end check.
Commenting on the issue, All India Punjab National Bank Officers’ Federation (AIPNBOF) General Secretary Shri Krishna Kumar highlighted the severe staff shortage in the bank. He stated that the officer who signed the circular may not be fully aware of the staffing situation in branches. According to him, some circles are facing acute shortages. For example, Purba Medinipur Circle reportedly has a shortage of around 100 clerks, while Gorakhpur Circle has a shortage of approximately 70 clerks.
He further stated that in many branches officers are performing cashier duties in addition to managerial responsibilities. Referring to Human Resource Management Division data, he said that there are 19 circles where officer shortages exceed 10 percent of the sanctioned strength.
Shri Krishna Kumar argued that the Head Office should first address the staff shortage across the country before introducing what he described as coercive measures that effectively keep employees in branches beyond working hours. He questioned the purpose of maintaining a large Circle Office structure if the Head Office does not trust the judgment of Circle Office officials. According to him, more than 5,500 officers are posted in Circle Offices, and redeploying them to branches could help address operational challenges.
He also pointed out that while RBI timelines allow KYC uploads within 7 days for Re-KYC cases and 10 days for new customer relationships, the bank is pushing branches to meet much tighter internal deadlines such as T+0 and T+1.
Shri Krishna Kumar appealed to employees to give their best efforts between 10 AM and 6 PM for both business growth and control-related activities. He advised employees to leave the office after 6 PM and, where day-end checks prevent branch closure, to send an email to the Circle Office stating that the branch was unable to complete SOL closure due to the day-end check.
