Bank of Baroda Says It Has Not Been Served BR Shetty's $15 Billion Suit; Shares Slip 3%

Bank of Baroda moved quickly on Wednesday morning to respond to a $15 billion damages claim from NMC Healthcare founder BR Shetty, telling the stock exchanges that it has not been served with the suit and will contest it firmly if and when it is. The clarification did little to steady the stock, which fell about 3% in morning trade and was hovering close to its 52-week low.

What the bank told exchanges

In its regulatory filing, the state-run lender said it had seen media reports of a suit said to have been filed by Shetty in the Bombay High Court on October 13. The bank said it could not comment on pleadings that are untested in court, and that it would take every step needed to protect its interests once served.

The response is carefully worded. It neither confirms nor disputes any of the allegations, and it stresses that nothing has yet been tested by a judge. For a listed public sector bank, the main aim of such a filing is to put its position on record before the market reads too much into the headline number.

What Shetty is claiming

According to reports on the plaint, Shetty has named the bank and 25 other defendants. He alleges that certain bank officials worked with former executives of his business group to divert money out of group companies, and that the bank later pursued him on personal guarantees he says carried forged signatures.

The claim is split into three equal parts: $5 billion for direct losses, $5 billion for consequential damage such as lost business and investment opportunities, and $5 billion for harm to his reputation and goodwill. Shetty is also seeking interest of 18% a year on the total from the date of filing until payment. Reports on the plaint also say the bank's own systems raised more than 100 anti-money-laundering alerts on the transactions in question, and that these were closed without action.

These are allegations made by one party in a civil suit. None of them has been examined by a court, and the bank has said it will defend the case.

Why this lands now

The suit comes only months after Bank of Baroda drew a line under its biggest NMC-related exposure. In July, the lender paid about $600 million, roughly Rs 5,700 crore, to settle disputes with the joint administrators of NMC Health and related entities. The bank said at the time that the out-of-court deal resolved all claims without any admission of liability or wrongdoing, and that its exposure in those proceedings was capped at the settlement amount. The settlement also ended related proceedings in the Abu Dhabi Global Market Court.

NMC Healthcare was once one of the largest private hospital operators in the UAE. It collapsed in 2020 after an audit uncovered billions of dollars in debt that had not been disclosed, setting off insolvency cases in several countries. Bank of Baroda was among its major lenders.

What investors are weighing

The $15 billion figure is many times the bank's July settlement, which explains the nervous reaction in the stock even though the suit has not yet reached the bank. In practice, the next steps are procedural. The court will first have to admit the suit and the bank will need to be formally served before it files a defence. Damages claims of this size often take years to resolve.

For now, Bank of Baroda's stance is that the NMC chapter was settled in July and that any new claim will be fought. Investors will look for further disclosures once the bank is served and its lawyers set out a formal response.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.