The Chandigarh Crater: IDFC First Bank Shares Hit 20% Lower Circuit as ₹590 Crore Fraud Surfaces
MUMBAI / CHANDIGARH. February 23 2026. IDFC First Bank shares dropped a lot today. They went down to their 20% circuit. The shares hit a low of ₹66.85. This happened after the bank found out about a fraud at its Chandigarh branch. The fraud is ₹590 crore. It is related to accounts held by the Haryana Government. This news made a lot of people sell their shares. It erased over ₹14,000 crore in investor wealth in one day.
The bank found out about the fraud in a way. A Haryana government department asked to close its account and move the money.. The bank realized the money was not really there.
The Paper Trail Breakdown: How the Fraud Surfaced
The problem came to light between February 18 and February 21 2026. Some Haryana government entities tried to move their money to nationalized banks.. The banks records did not match the governments records.
It seems like some employees at the Chandigarh branch did something. They might have changed the government-linked accounts. The bank has suspended four officials. Started legal action.
The bank has also asked a company called KPMG to look into the matter. They will do an audit to find out how much money is missing.
The CEO of IDFC First Bank said this is a problem. He said it is not an issue with the whole system. Managing Director and CEO V. Vaidyanathan said this is a one-time mistake. He said the bank has been clean for a time. The issue is with one branch and one group of clients. He said the bank is strong enough to handle the problem.
The RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra is watching the situation closely.. He does not think it is a big risk to the whole banking sector.
The Haryana Finance Department has taken action against IDFC First Bank. They have also taken action against AU Small Finance Bank. They have removed both banks from all state government business.
All state departments, boards and universities have been told to move their money from these banks. They have to put their money in nationalized banks.
Some analysts are worried, about the banks reputation. They think the bank did not watch its branches enough. They are worried that other big depositors might take their money out of the bank.
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