Bank frauds saw a whopping 73.8% jump in value in 2018-19 as compared to the previous year. In terms of number of cases, it was up 15%, the RBI’s annual report said. “The number of cases of frauds reported by banks increased by 15% in 2018-19 on a year-on-year basis, with the amount involved rising by 73.8%, though mostly related to occurrences in earlier years,” the report said. Banks had taken 55 months, on an average, to report large frauds. The overall average lag between the date of occurrence and its detection by banks was 22 months, the RBI report said. The average lag for large frauds, that is ₹100 crore and above, which amounted to ₹52,200 crore in 2018-19, was 55 months. Among bank groups, public sector banks (PSBs), which constitute the largest market share in bank lending, have accounted for the bulk of frauds reported in 2018-19. These were followed by private sector banks and foreign banks.