Nifty Bank Logs Worst Month Since 2020, Index Drops Over 16% With All 14 Stocks Down 11–22%

Mumbai: Nifty Bank has recorded its worst monthly performance in six years, with the index falling more than 16 percent in March. This is the steepest decline since March 2020, when markets had crashed during the COVID-19 outbreak.

What makes this fall significant is that every single one of the 14 stocks in the index declined, and all losses were in double digits. The fall ranged between 11 percent and 22 percent, showing broad-based weakness across the banking sector.

Heavy Losses in Large Banks

Major banking stocks saw sharp corrections during the month. Shares of State Bank of India dropped nearly 19 percent, while Union Bank of India fell around 18 percent. HDFC Bank declined about 17.5 percent, marking its worst start to a year since 2008.

HDFC Bank had delivered positive annual returns consistently since 2014, making this decline notable. SBI’s fall has also pushed the stock into negative territory for the year so far.

Private Banks Also Under Pressure

Private sector banks were not spared either. Axis Bank and Yes Bank declined around 16 percent in March. On Monday alone, both stocks fell between 3 percent and 5 percent.

Yes Bank, which was recently added to the Nifty Bank index, has fallen 20 percent so far this year. Axis Bank is also down 8 percent on a year-to-date basis, reflecting continued selling pressure.

Smaller Banks Show Relative Strength

Some relatively smaller banks performed slightly better, though still ended in losses. AU Small Finance Bank, Federal Bank, and ICICI Bank declined between 11 percent and 13 percent, making them the least impacted stocks in the index.

Despite this, they too remained firmly in negative territory, highlighting the widespread nature of the decline.

Market Value Takes a Hit

The sharp fall in banking stocks led to a significant erosion in investor wealth. Private banks alone contributed to a market capitalisation loss of around Rs 1 lakh crore in a single day.

The decline signals weak sentiment in the banking sector and reflects broader concerns affecting financial stocks.