Heads of PSU Banks 2026: Complete List of MD & CEOs, Headquarters and Taglines for Static GK

Introduction

Questions on the heads of PSU banks appear in almost every major recruitment examination in India. Whether you are attempting the General Awareness section of SSC CGL, the Banking Awareness portion of IBPS PO and Clerk Mains, or the Current Affairs paper of RRB NTPC, Insurance and State PCS exams, a straightforward question such as "Who is the current MD and CEO of Canara Bank?" can fetch you an easy mark. The difficulty is not the concept but the constant change, because leadership at public sector banks turns over regularly through retirements, three-year tenures and government extensions.

India currently has 12 Public Sector Banks, a number that settled after the mega-amalgamation of 1 April 2020 reduced 27 banks to 12. In each of these banks the Government of India holds at least a 51 per cent stake, and the top executive is appointed by the government rather than elected by shareholders. Eleven of these banks are led by a Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, while the State Bank of India alone is led by a Chairman, a distinction that examiners love to test.

This article covers every one of the 12 banks with its head, headquarters, tagline, establishment year and tenure position as of August 2026. Since these facts overlap heavily with the rest of your banking syllabus, pair this article with the detailed notes on our banking awareness study material to build a complete picture.

Core Concept Explanation

Before memorising names, understand the structure. It makes the list far easier to retain and it also answers a good number of conceptual questions.

• Public Sector Bank (PSB): A bank in which the Government of India holds a majority stake, that is 51 per cent or more of the paid-up capital. All 12 PSBs are scheduled commercial banks listed in the Second Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
• Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO): The full-time executive head of a nationalised bank. Eleven PSU banks are headed by an MD and CEO.
• Chairman: In the State Bank of India, the executive head is designated as Chairman, supported by four Managing Directors. SBI is governed by the State Bank of India Act, 1955, while the other 11 banks are governed by the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 and 1980.
• Non-Executive Chairman: The other 11 PSU banks also have a part-time, non-executive Chairman who presides over the board but does not run day-to-day operations. The MD and CEO, not this person, is the working head of the bank.
• Executive Director (ED): A whole-time director ranking just below the MD and CEO. When the top post falls vacant, the senior-most ED is usually given additional charge as interim MD and CEO.

The appointment route is equally important for exams:

• FSIB (Financial Services Institutions Bureau) shortlists and interviews candidates, then recommends a name. It was constituted on 1 July 2022, replacing the Banks Board Bureau, which had been set up on 1 April 2016.
• ACC (Appointments Committee of the Cabinet), headed by the Prime Minister, takes the final decision on the appointment.
• DFS (Department of Financial Services), under the Ministry of Finance, issues the formal notification.
• The standard tenure is three years, extendable by up to two more years subject to performance review, and in every case capped at the age of superannuation, which is 60 years.

Heads of All 12 PSU Banks in India 2026

Complete List with Headquarters, Taglines and Current Heads

Leadership Changes to Watch in 2026

Two of the twelve chairs changed hands in the first half of 2026, and one is still being filled. These are the highest-probability current affairs questions from this topic right now.

Key Appointments in 2025 That Are Still Being Asked

Memory Tricks and Mnemonics

Trick 1: The Four Southern Headquarters

Only four of the 12 PSU banks are headquartered in South India, and two of them share a city.

• Chennai: Indian Bank and Indian Overseas Bank. Both begin with "Indian" and both sit in Chennai.
• Bengaluru: Canara Bank only.

Remember: "Two Indians in Chennai, one Canara in Bengaluru."

Trick 2: The Mumbai Four, MUCB

Four PSU banks are headquartered in Mumbai. Use the acronym MUCB.

• M for Mumbai's biggest, State Bank of India
• U for Union Bank of India
• C for Central Bank of India
• B for Bank of India

"MUCB banks Mumbai." If a bank name contains the word "India" and is not Indian Bank or Indian Overseas Bank, it is almost certainly in Mumbai.

Trick 3: The Delhi Pair, Both Punjab

Both New Delhi-headquartered PSU banks start with Punjab: Punjab National Bank and Punjab & Sind Bank.

"Punjab twins live in Delhi, not in Punjab." This is a very common trap. Neither is headquartered in Chandigarh or Amritsar.

Trick 4: One Bank, One City, Remaining Four

The four leftover banks each have a unique city, and each city hints at the name.

• Bank of Baroda is in Vadodara, which was formerly called Baroda.
• Bank of Maharashtra is in Pune, a Maharashtra city, but note it is not Mumbai.
• UCO Bank is in Kolkata, matching its Birla origin in Bengal.
• Punjab National Bank is in New Delhi, specifically Dwarka.

"Baroda in Baroda, Maharashtra in Pune, UCO in Kolkata."

Trick 5: The Chairman versus MD and CEO Contrast

This single distinction has appeared repeatedly across banking exams.

• SBI alone has a Chairman as its executive head, because it runs under the SBI Act, 1955, and has four Managing Directors under him.
• The other 11 nationalised banks have an MD and CEO, because they run under the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Acts of 1970 and 1980.

"Eleven MDs, one Chairman. The Chairman is always SBI."

Trick 6: The Setty and Chandra Pair for the Top Two Banks

India's two largest PSU banks have heads whose names both carry a simple hook.

• SBI is headed by Setty. Both start with S.
• Chandra heads PNB, and he came from Canara Bank. Both start with C.

"S for SBI Setty, C for Canara-man Chandra at PNB."

Trick 7: The Kumar Cluster

Four names in this list involve the word Kumar, which causes confusion. Separate them by city.

• Binod Kumar is at Indian Bank, Chennai.
• Kalyan Kumar is at Central Bank of India, Mumbai.
• Brajesh Kumar Singh is at Canara Bank, Bengaluru.
• Ashwani Kumar is the former head of UCO Bank, Kolkata, who left on 31 May 2026.

"Binod is Indian, Kalyan is Central, Brajesh is Canara, Ashwani is history."

Trick 8: The Appointment Chain, F-A-D

Remember the appointment sequence with FAD.

• F for FSIB, which interviews and recommends.
• A for ACC, headed by the Prime Minister, which approves.
• D for DFS, under the Ministry of Finance, which notifies.

"FSIB suggests, ACC approves, DFS announces."

Additional Notes

Frequently Confused Facts

• Chairman of SBI versus MD of SBI: C. S. Setty is the Chairman. SBI also has four Managing Directors serving under him. In every other PSU bank, the MD is the top executive, not a subordinate.
• Bank of Maharashtra versus Central Bank of India: Bank of Maharashtra is in Pune, not Mumbai, even though it carries the state name. Central Bank of India is in Mumbai, not Delhi, even though it sounds central.
• Indian Bank versus Indian Overseas Bank: Both are in Chennai. Indian Bank was founded in 1907 and its tagline is Your Own Bank. Indian Overseas Bank was founded in 1937 and its tagline is Good People to Grow With.
• Good People to Grow With versus Good People to Bank With: The first belongs to Indian Overseas Bank, the second to Union Bank of India. Link "Grow" with "Overseas expansion" and "Bank" with "Union".
• Punjab & Sind Bank versus Punjab National Bank: Punjab & Sind Bank was founded in 1908, is the smaller of the two, and its tagline is Where Service is a Way of Life. PNB was founded in 1894, is the second-largest PSU bank, and its tagline is The Name You Can Bank Upon. Note also the spelling: it is Punjab & Sind Bank, not Sindh.
• Regular head versus additional charge: Brajesh Kumar Singh is the regular MD and CEO of Canara Bank. Rajendra Kumar Saboo holds additional charge at UCO Bank as an Executive Director. If a question asks for the MD and CEO of UCO Bank, mention the additional charge qualifier where the format allows.
• Ashok Chandra versus Ashwani Kumar: Ashok Chandra heads PNB and is very much in office. Ashwani Kumar headed UCO Bank until 31 May 2026 and is no longer in office.
• FSIB versus BBB: FSIB was set up on 1 July 2022 and replaced the Banks Board Bureau, which existed from 1 April 2016. FSIB recommends but does not appoint. The ACC appoints.

Repeating PYQ Patterns

• IBPS PO and Clerk Mains: Direct match-the-following questions pairing bank, headquarters and tagline. The SBI Chairman name appears almost every cycle.
• SBI PO and Clerk Mains: Questions on the SBI Chairman, the number of Managing Directors in SBI, and the SBI Act, 1955.
• RBI Grade B and NABARD: Conceptual questions on FSIB, its year of formation, and the difference between FSIB and the erstwhile Banks Board Bureau.
• SSC CGL and CHSL: Simple one-fact questions such as the headquarters of a named bank or the founder of Central Bank of India and UCO Bank.
• RRB NTPC and Group D: Establishment years, the 1969 and 1980 nationalisation dates, and the 2020 amalgamation figure of 12 banks.
• Insurance exams such as LIC AAO and NIACL: Recent appointment questions from the last six to nine months, which currently means the Canara Bank and UCO Bank changes.
• State PSC and UPSC Prelims: Indirect questions on the ownership threshold of 51 per cent, the governing statutes, and the role of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

To lock these patterns in, attempt the practice sets on our banking awareness quiz section immediately after reading, and cross-check the newest names against our daily current affairs updates.

Quick Insight

PSU bank leadership is not merely a memory topic. It reflects a real policy shift. Since the consolidation of 2020, the government has moved toward longer, more stable tenures at the top, visible in the three-year extensions granted to the heads of Bank of Baroda and Bank of India in April 2026 and the tenure extension at Indian Overseas Bank running to October 2027. Longer tenures allow a bank chief to see a technology or asset-quality programme through to completion instead of handing over midway. At the same time, the UCO Bank vacancy of mid-2026 shows the friction in the process, since a gap of several weeks between the outgoing chief and a regular successor is filled only by an Executive Director holding additional charge. Interviewers in banking recruitment often use this as a discussion point, so understanding the reasoning is as useful as memorising the names. For a broader view of how these institutions are structured and regulated, keep revising alongside our static GK notes.

One-Liners for Quick Revision

• Total Public Sector Banks in India → 12 → the count settled after the mega-amalgamation effective 1 April 2020, which merged 27 banks into 12.
• Minimum government stake in a PSU bank → 51 per cent → this majority holding is what makes a bank "public sector".
• State Bank of India → Mumbai → tagline The Banker to Every Indian → headed by Chairman C. S. Setty since 28 August 2024 → founded 1 July 1955 → the only PSU bank with a Chairman as executive head.
• Punjab National Bank → Dwarka, New Delhi → tagline The Name You Can Bank Upon → MD and CEO Ashok Chandra since 16 January 2025 → founded 19 May 1894 → second-largest PSU bank.
• Bank of Baroda → Vadodara, Gujarat → tagline India's International Bank → MD and CEO Debadatta Chand since 1 July 2023 → extended three years beyond 30 June 2026 → founded 20 July 1908.
• Canara Bank → Bengaluru, Karnataka → tagline Together We Can → MD and CEO Brajesh Kumar Singh since 1 June 2026, serving up to 30 April 2029 → founded 1906 by Ammembal Subba Rao Pai.
• Union Bank of India → Mumbai, Maharashtra → tagline Good People to Bank With → MD and CEO Asheesh Pandey since October 2025 → founded 11 November 1919.
• Bank of India → Mumbai, Maharashtra → tagline Relationship Beyond Banking → MD and CEO Rajneesh Karnatak since 29 April 2023 → extended three years from 29 April 2026 → founded 7 September 1906.
• Indian Bank → Chennai, Tamil Nadu → tagline Your Own Bank → MD and CEO Binod Kumar since 16 January 2025 → founded 15 August 1907 → merged with Allahabad Bank in 2020.
• Central Bank of India → Mumbai, Maharashtra → tagline Central to You Since 1911 → MD and CEO Kalyan Kumar since 1 October 2025 → founded 21 December 1911 by Sorabji Pochkhanawala.
• Indian Overseas Bank → Chennai, Tamil Nadu → tagline Good People to Grow With → MD and CEO Ajay Kumar Srivastava since 1 January 2023 → tenure extended to October 2027 → founded 10 February 1937 by M. Ct. M. Chidambaram Chettyar.
• UCO Bank → Kolkata, West Bengal → tagline Honours Your Trust → Rajendra Kumar Saboo holds additional charge as MD and CEO from 19 June 2026 → founded 6 January 1943 by G. D. Birla as United Commercial Bank.
• Bank of Maharashtra → Pune, Maharashtra → tagline One Family, One Bank → MD and CEO Nidhu Saxena since 27 March 2024 → founded 16 September 1935 → smallest of the 12 PSU banks.
• Punjab & Sind Bank → Rajendra Place, New Delhi → tagline Where Service is a Way of Life → MD and CEO Swarup Kumar Saha since 3 June 2022 → extended to 28 February 2027 → founded 24 June 1908.
• Only PSU bank currently without a regular head → UCO Bank → Executive Director Rajendra Kumar Saboo holds additional charge until 31 August 2026 or until a regular appointment.
• Newest regular PSU bank head → Brajesh Kumar Singh of Canara Bank → took charge 1 June 2026 → previously Executive Director of Indian Bank.
• Outgoing UCO Bank chief → Ashwani Kumar → completed a three-year term and demitted office on 31 May 2026 → he had been appointed on 31 May 2023.
• Canara Bank interim head in early 2026 → Hardeep Singh Ahluwalia, Executive Director → held additional charge from 1 January 2026 to 31 May 2026.
• Predecessor at Canara Bank → K. Satyanarayana Raju → superannuated on 31 December 2025.
• Predecessor at Central Bank of India → M. V. Rao → retired on superannuation on 31 July 2025.
• Predecessors at PNB and Indian Bank → Atul Kumar Goel at PNB and Shanti Lal Jain at Indian Bank → both tenures ended on 31 December 2024.
• Predecessor at Bank of Baroda → Sanjiv Chadha → tenure ended on 30 June 2023.
• Predecessor at SBI → Dinesh Kumar Khara → superannuated in August 2024, making Setty the 27th Chairman.
• Predecessor at Bank of Maharashtra → A. S. Rajeev → moved to the Central Vigilance Commission as Vigilance Commissioner.
• Standard tenure of a PSU bank MD and CEO → three years → extendable by up to two more years after performance review, capped at superannuation age 60.
• Body that recommends PSU bank chiefs → FSIB, the Financial Services Institutions Bureau → set up 1 July 2022 → replaced the Banks Board Bureau of 2016.
• Body that finally approves the appointment → Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister.
• Ministry and department that notify the appointment → Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance.
• Governing law for SBI → State Bank of India Act, 1955 → this is why SBI has a Chairman plus four Managing Directors.
• Governing law for the other 11 PSU banks → Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 and 1980.
• First nationalisation of banks → 19 July 1969 → 14 major commercial banks were nationalised.
• Second nationalisation of banks → 15 April 1980 → 6 more banks were nationalised.
• PSU banks headquartered in Mumbai → four → SBI, Union Bank of India, Central Bank of India and Bank of India.
• PSU banks headquartered in Chennai → two → Indian Bank and Indian Overseas Bank.
• PSU banks headquartered in New Delhi → two → Punjab National Bank and Punjab & Sind Bank.
• Single-bank cities → Vadodara for Bank of Baroda, Bengaluru for Canara Bank, Pune for Bank of Maharashtra and Kolkata for UCO Bank.
• Oldest PSU bank by foundation year → Punjab National Bank, founded 1894 → the oldest Indian bank still operating under its original name.
• First Indian bank to open an overseas branch → Bank of India → London, 1946.
• First Indian commercial bank wholly owned and managed by Indians → Central Bank of India, 1911.

Once you have revised these one-liners, test your recall on our static GK quiz series, and take the timed set on our daily current affairs quiz to check whether the latest appointments have stuck. Aspirants tracking new vacancies should also bookmark the latest government job notifications page so that no banking recruitment cycle is missed.