CAMEL rating is used by most banks across the world as a performance evaluation technique. It undertakes all the important criteria, i.e., Capital, Assets, Management, Earnings and Liquidity (CAMEL), for the evaluation of any bank. There is a need for bank employees to have sufficient knowledge of the rating system, in order to guide the banking growth rate in the positive direction. Lack of knowledge among employees regarding banking performance indicators affects banks negatively as these are the basis for any banking action. The objective of this paper is to find out the awareness level, as well as the perception among bank employees about CAMEL rating, and the efforts made by them for improving the ratings of their banks. The results show that there is, comparatively, a higher degree of lack of awareness among executives of private sector banks, and hence, they do not perceive it positively. Foreign banks enjoy a high degree of awareness and positive perception among their employees.

Banks deal with people's most liquid asset (cash) and run a country's financial deals (commerce). Therefore, it is important to understand the financial position of banks by developing a suitable model which can assess the true picture of their performances. The most common measure of a bank's financial performance, globally, is the CAMEL rating. In India too, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recognizes CAMEL ratings as an appropriate technique for evaluating the performance of banks. Any performance measurement technique in organizations can be successful and can yield positive results only if their employees are aware of it, if they understand it fully, and are determined to make efforts to improve their organizational ratings. In this paper, an attempt has been made to find out the awareness of CAMEL ratings among bank employees, how they perceive it, and the efforts that they are willing to make in order to improve the ratings of their banks. It also investigates whether significant differences exist between the employees of public and private sector banks regarding the above.

The CAMEL rating system is an internal supervisory tool for evaluating the soundness of banks and for identifying those banks which require special supervisory attention or concern. However, it is not the only technique through which a bank's performance can be assessed; banks are also evaluated on other performance evaluation techniques. Every country evaluates banks according to the ratings undertaken by them and also by the system applicable worldwide. Indian banks have been rated form time to time to assess their performance. Ratings are designed to assess a bank's exposure to risks, appetite for risks, and management of risks; an adverse or inferior rating is an indication that it may run into difficulties and would require support. The public expects banks to anticipate changes, to recognize opportunities, to deal with and manage risks to limit losses, and to create wealth through lending.

Bank Management Journal, Reserve Bank of India, RBI, Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Banks, Cash Reserve Ratio , CRR, Statutory Liquidity Requirement, SLR, Asset Quality, Capital Adequacy, Research Methodology, HDFC Bank, Performance Evaluation Technique, Management Quality, Indian Commercial Banks.