In 2018-19, a total of 9,092 cases were registered worth Rs 26,720 crore, while in 2019-20, the number of frauds increased to 11,074, involving monetary value of Rs 21,170 crore, said the Minister of State for Finance. Bhagwad Karad said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha,
He said that in 2020-21, PSBs registered 4,680 fraud cases worth Rs 7,306 crore, which remained 2,369 cases against Rs 3,204 crore in 2021-22.
Karad said an online searchable database of frauds reported by banks has been set up Central Fraud Registry,
He said this has enabled timely detection, control and mitigation of fraud risk and due diligence during the loan sanction process.
Several steps have been taken by RBI to detect frauds, such as issuing directions to banks on prompt reporting of such cases, reporting deficiencies in third party services and enforcement of security and operational controls by banks.
The minister said that the government in 2015 issued a framework for banks for timely detection, reporting and investigation of large value bank frauds involving funds of over Rs 50 crore.
“Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have been advised to strictly ensure rotational transfer of officers/employees,” Karad said.
In a separate question on the profitability of PSBs, the minister said that their net profit increased to Rs 66,519 crore in 2021-22 from Rs 31,820 crore in 2020-21.
Karad said the gross NPAs (non-performing assets) of these banks fell to Rs 5,41,750 crore in 2020-21 from Rs 6,16,616 crore.
In his reply, the Minister said, “The profit earned and retained by the banks adds to their capital and enables them to support further credit growth while maintaining the required capital adequacy ratio. In addition, banks can increase their capital base. Raise capital from the market to strengthen it.
Providing data, Karad said the capital raised by PSBs in both equity and bonds from the market in FY22 was Rs 50,719 crore.
It was Rs 58,697 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 32,293 crore in 2019-20.