IDFC First Bank re-rating may be delayed due to recent issues, BoFA warns after downgrade
Published on 26/02/2026 08:12 AM
IDFC First Bank re-rating may be delayed due to recent issues, BoFA warns after downgradeThe re-rating on IDFC First Bank to be delayed till full clarity emerges on the recent issues, according to the BoFA note, and as a result, the brokerage has cut its financial year 2027 Earnings Per Share (EPS) estimates by 13%.By Hormaz Fatakia February 26, 2026, 8:12:59 AM IST (Published)2 Min ReadShares of IDFC First Bank Ltd. were downgraded by brokerage firm BoFA Securities in its latest note on Thursday, February 26. The brokerage also cut its price target for the lender in light of the recent issues plaguing it.
BoFA Securities downgraded IDFC First Bank to "neutral" from its earlier rating of "outperform" and cut its price target to ₹75 from ₹95 earlier. The revised price target is marginally higher than the price at which it closed on Wednesday.
The re-rating on IDFC First Bank to be delayed till full clarity emerges on the recent issues, according to the BoFA note, and as a result, the brokerage has cut its financial year 2027 Earnings Per Share (EPS) estimates by 13%.
IDFC First Bank shares had declined as much as 20% on Monday after it disclosed a ₹590 crore fraud, which was a reconciliation discrepancy in an account related to the Haryana Government. It was later debased by the government, along with AU Small Finance Bank.
Despite the bank clarifying that this was an isolated incident and confined only to one branch, while all checks and balances remained in place and business was strong, the stock failed to see any meaningful recovery.
BoFA wrote in its note that this incident is likely to result in disruption in the bank's CASA, which will impact its deposit growth, cost of funds and loan growth as well. The brokerage also expects higher operating expenditure for the lender.
30 analysts have coverage on IDFC First Bank, of which 16 have a "buy" rating, eight say "hold" and six have a "sell" rating. Brokerages such as Keynote Capitals, ICICI Securities, and Anand Rathi also downgraded the stock after this incident.
Shares of IDFC First Bank ended 1.1% lower on Wednesday at ₹70.16.Continue ReadingTagsIDFC FirstIDFC First Bankshare market today