Bank of Baroda shares drop 3% after NMC Healthcare founder BR Shetty files $15 bn lawsuit; lender issues clarification

Shares of Bank of Baroda dropped more than 3% on Wednesday after The Economic Times reported that BR Shetty, the founder of NMC Healthcare, has filed a $15 billion suit against the PSU lender, accusing it of colluding with his business group's former executives to siphon off funds that left him facing liabilities on guarantees he was unaware of.

Bank of Baroda shares tumbled to Rs 230.40 apiece on NSE. This came after BR Shetty’s reported lawsuit, filed at the Bombay High Court, sought $5 billion in direct damages for alleged fraud and negligence, $5 billion in consequential damages and $5 billion in compensation for reputational harm arising from various actions taken by the bank, including a lookout circular issued against him. He also sought 18% interest on the first $10 billion, the ET report added.

Shetty’s lawsuit names Bank of Baroda, many of its current and former executives, former NMC employees, along with other individuals and companies, ET reported. His case is linked to one in the UAE that Bank of Baroda settled in July by paying roughly $600 million (around Rs 5,700 crore) to the administrators of the insolvent NMC and its affiliates. Administrators of the UAE-based healthcare group had accused Bank of Baroda of facilitating improper transactions in cahoots with Shetty, without doing due diligence and following proper anti-money-laundering and customer verification processes.

UAE-based healthcare provider NMC Health was declared insolvent in 2020 after it was found that it had hidden more than $4 billion in debt. Besides BoB, other creditors to the company are Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD among others.

Following the sharp drop in share price, Bank of Baroda issued a clarification to exchanges, stating that it has not been served with such a suit.

"If and when the bank is served, the bank will defend the suit firmly and take all steps necessary to protect its interests," the PSU lender said in its exchange filing.

Bank of Baroda shares have fallen more than 1% in a week and nearly 3% in a month, with the stock overall being down 23% in 2026 so far, underperforming the Nifty Next 50 index which is down only 1% during the same time.

The shares of the PSU lender have dropped over 12% in one year. In the longer term, the stock delivered positive returns of nearly 14% in three years and 161% in five years. The company’s market capitalisation stands at around Rs 1.2 lakh crore.