National Development Bank PLC released its first formal board statement on the internal fraud incident on April 8, 2026, estimating a worst-case after-tax loss of approximately Rs. 4.0 billion for the first quarter of 2026.
In the statement, the bank said the provisioned loss represents around 0.7% of its total asset base of Rs. 990 billion as of March 31, 2026. NDB’s 2025 net profit was Rs. 11.0 billion, with Rs. 3.5 billion earned in the fourth quarter alone. The board said capital adequacy ratios are expected to stay above regulatory minimums of 7.0% Common Equity Tier I, 8.5% Tier I and 12.5% total capital.
“No customer balances have been affected by this incident. All customer funds remain intact and secure,” the statement said. The bank added that implicated employees had been suspended, records secured, and the affected operational unit placed under separate oversight with enhanced access controls. Law enforcement action has already produced arrests, and the board will appoint an independent forensic auditor.
The Rs. 4 billion figure is notably below the Rs. 13.2 billion gross fraud estimate reported by EconomyNext’s investigation and cited by opposition MPs in Parliament. The two figures measure different things: the gross fraud quantum refers to suspected losses traced through Customer Electronic Funds Transfer receivables that ballooned from Rs. 1.4 billion historically to Rs. 12.22 billion in the 2025 accounts, while the Rs. 4 billion is an after-tax P&L impact following provisioning and expected recoveries.
NDB shares fell 15.13% to Rs. 110.75 on April 8 when the Colombo Stock Exchange lifted its trading halt. The Central Bank has suspended NDB’s cash dividend and frozen branch expansion pending the investigation’s conclusion.
