RBI is the approving authority for the appointment of Statutory Central Auditors (SCAs) / Statutory Branch Auditors (SBAs) of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in terms of Section 10(1) of Banking Companies (Acquisition & Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970/1980, and Section 41(1) of SBI Act, 1955.

(ii) During the FY 2022-23, all the PSBs had appointed SBAs, exercising managerial autonomy granted to them in this regard, and based on the revised guidelines for appointment / re-appointment of SBAs of PSBs dated March 06, 2023, issued by RBI.

(iii) The names of audit firms recommended by the PSBs for validation by RBI before appointment / re-appointment as SBAs can be accessed clicking here. The bank-wise allocation of branches to the SBAs is hosted here.

(iv) RBI, among others, has advised PSBs to ensure that selection and allocation of branches to SBAs is made in a transparent, fair and judicious manner. It has been advised that not more than two branches shall be allotted to each SBA.

Disclaimer: As the information relating to appointment / re-appointment of SBAs and allocation of branches has been obtained from the banks, RBI is not responsible for any discrepancy/omission in the information published. It has come to our notice that the following discrepancy exists in the list of allocation of branches among SBAs submitted by SBI: The branch ‘Industrial Finance Branch, Pune’ was actually audited by M/s HMA & Associates (UCN 211802; FRN 100537W), whereas it has been erroneously shown as audited by M/s Goyal and Agrawal (UCN-955548; FRN 131763W) in the data submitted by the bank.