Public Sector Banks Hit By Rs 1.48 Lakh Crore Worth Frauds In One Year
Reports of fraud from Public Sector Banks have become a common phenomenon. Defaults on loans is nothing new and banks have been able to do little about this. Cases of fraud worth Rs. 1,48,427 crores have been reported from public sector banks in the last financial year.
This data was obtained from The Reserve Bank of India which gave these figures in response to information sought by RTI activist Chandrashekhar Gaur.
The RBI said that a total of 12,461 cases of frauds have been registered from the then 18 banks, out of which frauds amounting to over Rs 1.48 lakh crore have been reported. According to information provided by the RBI, the highest number of cases of fraud have been reported with the State Bank of India (SBI).
The country’s largest state-run bank has lost Rs 44,612 crore due to fraud cases. There have been 6,964 cases of fraud from the SBI and in the overall ratio, the SBI has lost 30 percent wealth.
According to the Reserve Bank, 395 cases of fraud were reported from Punjab National Bank from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020, involving an amount of Rs 15,354 crore. Bank of Baroda has been ranked number three in this list, with a loss of Rs 12,586 crore in 349 fraud cases.
Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank were merged with Bank of Baroda from April 1, 2019. Union Bank of India lost capital worth Rs 9,316 crore in 424 cases during the financial year 2019-20. In addition, Bank of India has lost Rs 8,069 crore in 200 such cases.
On the other hand, Canara Bank has reported fraud of Rs 7,519.30 crore in 208 cases, Indian Overseas Bank in 207 cases of Rs 7,275.48 crore, Allahabad Bank in 896 cases of Rs 6,973 crore and UCO Bank has reported fraud of Rs 5,384 crore in 119 cases.
Replying to the RTI, the Reserve Bank of India said that during the period from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020, Oriental Bank of Commerce has lost Rs 5,340 crore in 329 cases, Syndicate Bank has Rs 4,999 crore in 438 cases, Corporation Bank has 4,816 crore in 125 cases. Rs, Central Bank of India Rs 3,993 crore in 900 cases, Andhra Bank Rs 3,462 crore in 115 cases, Bank of Maharashtra Rs 3,391 crore in 413 cases, United Bank of India Rs 2,679 crore in 87 cases, Indian Bank 2,254 crores in 225 cases and fraud of Rs. 397 crores was reported from Punjab & Sind Bank in 67 cases.
Earlier there were total 18 Public Sector Banks, but since April, 2020, merger of banks took place and now the total number of Public Sector Banks stands at stands at 12 now.
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