PSB fraud is down 51% to Rs 40,295 crore, yet the number of cases is still rising: RBI

During the financial year ending March 2022, public sector banks reported a 51% decrease in the amount involved in frauds, to Rs 40,295.25 crore, according to the Reserve Bank of India.

The Reserve Bank said in response to a request under the Right to Information Act that the 12 PSBs (Public Sector Banks) recorded frauds of Rs 81,921.54 crore in the prior fiscal year 2020-21.

However, the number of fraud cases did not decrease at the same rate, with the PSBs reporting 7,940 frauds in 2021-22, compared to 9,933 occurrences in FY21, according to the RBI’s response to Madhya Pradesh-based RTI activist Chandrashekhar Gaur.

According to RBI statistics on PSB frauds recorded in all categories during FY22, the city-based Punjab National Bank (PNB) reported the largest amount of Rs 9,528.95 crore, including 431 occurrences.

The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India, recorded 4,192 cases of fraud totaling Rs 6,932.37 crore, indicating a high percentage of small-value crimes. Bank of India reported frauds totaling Rs 5,923.99 crore in 209 instances, followed by Bank of Baroda at Rs 3,989.36 crore in 280 cases, Union Bank of India at Rs 3,939 crore in 627 cases, and Canara Bank with Rs 3,230.18 crore in 90 cases, indicating that these were high-value frauds.

Customers of Indian Banks faced frauds totaling Rs 2,038.28 crore in 211 cases; Indian Overseas Bank Rs 1,733.80 crore (312); Bank of Maharashtra Rs 1,139.36 crore (72 cases); Central Bank of India Rs 773.37 crore; UCO Bank Rs 611.54 crore (114 crores); and Punjab & Sind Bank Rs 455.04 crore in 159 cases.

The statistics may alter as a result of corrections or updates made after the banks’ first filing, according to the RBI (in respect of individual frauds). According to the RBI response, from April 1, 2017, a total of Rs 1 lakh worth of scams have been registered.