Financial Express: New Delhi: Monday, May 28, 2018.
Twenty-one
public sector banks (PSBs) have incurred losses totalling Rs 25,775 crore due
to banking frauds in the financial year 2017-18, a Right to Information reply
has stated. The Punjab National Bank (PNB) had incurred the highest loss of Rs
6,461.13 crore due to different cases of fraud during the fiscal that ended on
March 31 this year, Chandrasekhar Gaud, who had filed the RTI with the Reserve
Bank of India, told PTI today. He added that the reply, which was sent to him
on May 15, did not specify details of any particular case of banking fraud.
One of the
biggest banking frauds, allegedly involving diamond merchants Nirav Modi and
Mehul Choksi and PNB officials, is being currently investigated by the Central
Bureau of Investigation. The investigating agency has filed two charge sheets
in the special CBI court in Mumbai in connection with the Rs 12,636 crore PNB
scam. The RTI reply stated that the State Bank of India had, during this
period, incurred losses of Rs 2390.75 crore due to various cases of banking
fraud.
In the given
period, the Bank of India had incurred a loss of Rs 2,224.86 crore, Bank of
Baroda’s losses stood at Rs 1,928.25 crore, Allahabad Bank at Rs 1,520.37
crore, Andhra Bank at Rs 1,303.30 crore and Uco Bank at Rs 1,224.64 crore.The
RTI reply informed that the IDBI Bank
incurred losses of Rs 1,116.53 crore, Union Bank of India had losses of Rs
1,095.84 crore, Central Bank of India of Rs 1,084.50 crore, Bank of Maharashtra
of Rs 1,029.23 crore and Indian Overseas Bank had incurred a loss of Rs
1,015.79 crore.
The RBI has
clarified in the RTI that only those cases of fraud, involving a sum of over Rs
1 lakh, were included in the list. It, however, did not disclose the numbers of
cases or the nature of fraud. Other banks, as per the RTI, that faced losses
due to
fraud during
this period were Corporation Bank with a loss of Rs 970.89 crore, United Bank
of India with Rs 880.53 crore,
Oriental Bank
of Commerce with Rs 650.28 crore and Syndicate Bank with Rs 455.05 crore.
Canara Bank
at Rs 190.77 crore, Punjab and Sind Bank at Rs 90.01 crore, Dena Bank at Rs
89.25 crore, Vijaya Bank at Rs 28.58 crore and Indian Bank at Rs 24.23-crore
made up the rest of the list provided by RBI as part of its RTI reply.
Economist Jayantilal Bhandari, commenting on the RTI, said that the condition
of 21 PSBs of the country was “extremely worrisome” due to banking fraud.
Bhandari said, “With regard to fraud cases, the banks are not only facing huge
economic losses, but the prospects of giving new loans by them in the future
are also affected adversely. This situation is obviously not good for the
economy.”