Published Online:May 2026
Product Name:The IUP Journal of Bank Management
Product Type:Article
Product Code:IJBM010526
DOI:10.71329/IUPJBM/2026.25.2.5-30
Author Name:J Madegowda
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Finance
Download Format:PDF
Pages:5-30
This paper focuses on the comparative performance evaluation of public sector banks (PSBs) and private sector banks (PVSBs) in India during a 20-year study period, 2005-06 to 2024-25. The most important objective of the study is to investigate whether there has been a structural change in the performance of these two ownership groups of banks. The performance evaluation and comparison are carried out through a holistic CAMELS framework. The study is mainly based on secondary data collected from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) publications and other databases. It uses descriptive and inferential statistical measures, such as mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, Mann-Whitney U test, Student’s t-test, Welch’s t-test, and stability analysis using Z-scores. These multiple performance metrics enable a strong evaluation and comparison of the performance of two ownership groups of banks. The study results signify that PVSBs generally tend to outperform PSBs in most performance measures, especially in liquidity, financial stability, asset quality, and profitability. However, PSBs are superior in financial inclusion, capital stability, and business volume. The study has significant implications for banking policy and management, and proposes necessary changes in risk management, technological integration, and governance of PSBs to have a balanced and resilient banking system.
India’s banking industry has undergone significant changes over the last few decades, evolving from a state-dominated and controlled system to a market-based and competitive system. The nationalization of major private banks in 1969 and 1980 set the stage for the dominance of public sector banks (PSBs), which were instrumental in promoting financial inclusion, priority sector lending and socioeconomic development (Reserve Bank of India [RBI], 2023).