Public sector banks have about eight lakh employees on their payrolls and 1.25 lakh employees responded to the voluntary retirement scehme, he said at the annual general meeting. Those employees receiving green signal for voluntary retirement would be relieved from the services of banks in the course of the next few months, he added.

Mr Singh, who is also chairman and managing director of the Central Bank of India, said that with industrial production and agriculture output stagnant and the stock markets in turmoil, the impact was being felt by the banks.

(PTI)