The All India Punjab National Bank Officers’ Federation (AIPNBOF) has urged Punjab National Bank (PNB) to review about 10,500 branches after branch-head suspensions and a separate probe into alleged debits in Greater Noida.
In a circular dated Oct. 30 and addressed to PNB’s managing director and chief executive, AIPNBOF called for an examination of branch staffing and administrative oversight. It wants the bank to assess staffing against sanctioned positions, workload and customer traffic, and review whether training prepares employees for cash handling, security, fraud prevention and banking systems. The federation also proposed scrutiny of corporate, zonal and circle offices and the board’s role where relevant.
The appeal followed reports that branch heads had been suspended after audits found unauthorized people in cash-handling areas and using branch computers. AIPNBOF General Secretary Krishna Kumar said the federation supports strict action when misconduct or negligence is established, but warned, “Knee-jerk reaction will not serve any purpose.”
Separately, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating alleged debits at PNB’s Sector-Pi branch in Greater Noida. PNB’s complaint to the agency identified ₹10.24 crore in alleged debits when it was filed, while saying reconciliation was ongoing and more accounts could be affected. The complaint says a customer found three transactions dated Sept. 16 that she said she had not authorized. It alleges office assistant Deepanshi used other officials’ Core Banking System credentials; their roles and those of other account holders remain under investigation. The alleged transactions involved savings and fixed deposits, including some deposits closed early.
PNB said it had settled three claims totaling ₹43 lakh as of Oct. 28 and would honor genuine claims, according to a statement quoted by PTI on Oct. 29. PTI also reported account holders’ allegation that nearly ₹35 crore was missing; that figure is not an established loss.
