Canara Bank’s Staff-Led Drive Raises INR 16,700 Cr in Deposits in 10 Weeks

Canara Bank implemented an extraordinary internal initiative on January 26, 2025 asking each of its 82,000 employees to help increase deposit mobilisation to address challenges faced throughout the system. The efforts resulted in INR16,700 crore in deposits generated by employees in just ten weeks.

Managing Director & CEO K Satyanarayana Raju drove the campaign and asked all staff to leverage their personal and professional networks. “We asked each of them to bring in INR 10 lakh in deposits either in CASA or in retail term deposits,” he said. The call was warmly received, reflecting the internal changes the Bank has undertaken over the past few years with the transparent promotions process, recognition of performance and fair transfer policies over the previous few years.

Regarding overall deposits raised, this portion of the amount was evenly split between CASA (Current and Savings Accounts) and term deposits and further allowed the bank to reduce its credit-deposit (CD) ratio from 76% in December to 73% by March. This change worked to relieve mounting credit pressure and also to decrease the amount of reliance on bulk deposits, which decreased from 25% to 23% of total deposits.

Significantly, Raju emphasized this was not a short-term initiative to inflate the quarterly numbers but rather a long term strategic play to improve the business fundamentals. The push generated more customer engagement and more stickiness in balances, he said which is further noted.

Canara Bank is now looking to turn its attention towards monthly recurring deposits to build off this successful campaign. There was a mobilization of funding that exceeded the model’s expectations and importantly the model also solidified the bank’s relationship with its customers – it was fueled by the commitment of the bank’s own people.