NEWS

RBI’s report card on banking frauds in H1 of FY22

4,071 banking fraud cases reported in first half involving Rs 36,342 cr; frauds relating to advances are more than those linked to card or internet transactions.

The number of fraud cases in banking operations has increased while its value has fallen during the first half of the current financial year, according to a new report by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The reported number of fraud cases in first half of FY 2021-22 stood at 4,071 versus 3,499 a year ago.

However, the amount involved in frauds in various banking operations based on the date of reporting declined to Rs 36,342 crore during the six-month period beginning April 2021, from Rs 64,261 crore in the year-ago period.

Frauds relating to advances numbered 1,802 in H1 2021-22 amounting to Rs 35,060 crore, according to the RBI’s Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2020-21.

The number of reported fraud cases linked to card or internet transactions stood at 1,532, involving Rs 60 crore. 

In terms of deposits, the number of reported cases of frauds stood at 208 involving an amount of Rs 362 crore, the report said.

During the first half of this fiscal, private sector banks (PVBs) accounted for more than half of the number of reported fraud cases. In value terms, however, the share of public sector banks (PSBs) was higher, indicating predominance of high-value frauds.

While the major share of loan-related cases pertained to PSBs, PVBs accounted for a majority of card/ internet and cash-related cases, the report said.

In the financial year 2020-21, the reported number of cases of frauds declined to 7,363 (Rs 1,38,422 crore) from 8,703 cases (Rs 1,85,468 crore) in the earlier year.

In terms of the amount involved, a bulk of these cases occurred earlier but were reported during the year 2020-21, the RBI report said.

In terms of the area of operations, an overwhelming majority of cases were reported during 2020-21 in terms of number and amount involved related to advances, while frauds concerning card or internet transactions made up 34.6% of the number of cases.

In 2020-21, there was a marked increase in frauds related to PVBs, both in terms of number as well as the amount involved, the RBI report said.

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