Late on Friday evening, December 26, 2025, PNB informed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that it detected a loan fraud of ₹2,434 crore. This fraud is linked to the former promoters (owners/managers) of two companies. The total fraud amount breaks up as follows: ₹1,240.94 crore is linked to SREI Equipment Finance Ltd. (SEFL), while ₹1,193.06 crore pertains to SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd. (SIFL).
What happened to these companies?
Both SEFL and SIFL went through a bankruptcy process, which means the courts stepped in to manage their financial problems. During this process, plans were approved to either bring in new owners or restructure the companies so their debts could be handled properly.
Earlier, in October 2021, the RBI took control of these companies because there were serious problems. The companies had poor management and were unable to repay loans worth about ₹28,000 crore, which raised concerns about how they were being run. PNB found fraud in the loans given to SREI group companies.
What PNB has done?
PNB has already set aside the entire amount that it may not be able to recover from these loans, a process known as making full provision. This means the bank has already recorded the amount as a loss in its financial accounts. As a result, reporting the fraud now will not lead to any new financial impact on PNB, since the loss has already been accounted for earlier. The issue mainly concerns the former promoters involved, and it does not affect PNB’s current financial position.
PNB disclosed this information after stock market hours on Friday, meaning investors could not react to the news immediately. By the time the announcement was made, the bank’s shares had already closed 0.6% lower at ₹120.25. As a result, the disclosure did not have any immediate impact on the stock price during that trading session.
