IDFC First Bank shares slip 20% after ₹590 crore fraud is detected

The IDFC First Bank fraud worth ₹590 crore is an at least 20% hit to its profit after tax in Fiscal 2026, according to analysts.

Shares of India's IDFC First Bank Ltd. fell by a fifth on Monday after ₹590 crore fraud was detected at its branch in Chandigarh.

V. Vaidyanathan, chief executive officer of IDFC First Bank. (Reuters)

IDFC First Bank's share price fell as much as 19.99% to hit an intraday low of ₹66.85 even as the benchmark Sensex rose 0.65%.

The IDFC First Bank fraud in Chandigarh is linked to government bank accounts of Haryana. At least four staff members have been suspended. A forensic audit is underway.

According to UBS, the fraud amount — ₹590 crore — is about 22% of IDFC First Bank's net profit in FY26, even the private lender claimed the impact is just 1% of its net worth. Morgan Stanley saw a 20% hit to the bank's bottom line in FY26.

IDFC First Bank will now have to reassure investors that the issue had not spread to other clients and that the matter did not appear to be systemic, Jefferies said.

‘No systemic issue’

The Reserve Bank of India is tracking developments around the IDFC First Bank fraud, Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Monday.

IDFC First Bank has said that the fraud is “confined to a specifi government-linked accounts within Haryana government” operated through the Chandigarh branch in question. It doesn't extend to other customers of the Chandigarh branch.