
Since the financial year 2015-2016 (FY16), banks collectively wrote off over Rs 1.01 trillion due to fraud, averaging approximately Rs 13,000 crore (Rs 130 billion) annually. In FY16, banks reported write-offs of about Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion), constituting 0.04 per cent of the total credit for that year.

Changing Landscape: FY23 Write-Offs and Distribution
FY23 witnessed write-offs due to fraud accounting for 0.03 per cent of total credit, with an overall figure surpassing that of FY16. Between FY19 and FY23, banks wrote off over Rs 10 trillion, with fraud write-offs making up 9 per cent of this amount.
Shifts in Ownership: State-Owned vs. Private Banks

In FY16, State-owned banks reported 80 per cent of all fraud-related write-offs, while private banks accounted for 12 per cent. This distribution shifted in FY21, with State-owned banks contributing 14 per cent to write-offs and private banks taking up 79 per cent. By FY23, private banks were responsible for 74 per cent of fraud-related write-offs, while state-owned banks comprised 24 per cent.
Rising Incidents: Private Banks Take the Lead in Fraud Occurrences

Despite the total number of bank frauds rising from 6,800 in FY19 to over 13,500 in FY23, the share of private banks in these incidents increased from 34 per cent to 66 per cent.
Amount Involved: Decrease Amidst Changing Dynamics
During this period, the amount involved in such frauds decreased from Rs 71,500 crore (Rs 715 billion) to Rs 30,200 crore (Rs 302 billion).
Loan Frauds and Percentage Distribution
Notably, loans comprised 30 per cent of all bank frauds in FY23, with 95 per cent of the amounts involved in fraud relating to loans. The overall amount involved in all bank frauds exceeded Rs 1 trillion in FY20 and FY21, with the share of private banks in the total amount involved increasing from 10 per cent in FY19 to 30 per cent in FY23.