Private sector banks led a broad-based deterioration in data reporting quality in the March 2026 quarter, as the latest round of the Supervisory Data Quality Index (sDQI) showed a marked decline in their scores compared with the previous quarter.The sDQI, a quarterly metric compiled by the Reserve Bank of India, tracks the quality of regulatory data submitted by banks across four parameters—accuracy, completeness, timeliness and consistency—and is updated every quarter to reflect changes in reporting standards and systems.In the March 2026 update, private sector banks recorded the steepest sequential drop among all segments, with their overall score falling from 90.6 in December 2025 to 89.3. The decline was broad-based, with accuracy slipping from 87.2 to 85.4, completeness dropping from 97.6 to 95.5, and timeliness weakening from 90.1 to 88.9. Consistency showed only a marginal improvement, rising from 87.4 to 87.5.The deterioration comes as the overall system saw a mild decline in reporting quality in the latest quarter. Across all scheduled commercial banks, the aggregate sDQI score eased from 90.9 to 90.7, while the number of banks flagged for potential concern increased from two to three.Other segments also reflected the shifting nature of the quarterly index. Public sector banks saw their score edge down from 91.0 to 90.7, as gains in timeliness and consistency were offset by weaker accuracy and completeness. Small finance banks, which had topped the rankings in the previous quarter, recorded a sharper fall from 91.9 to 90.4, including a loss of their earlier perfect score on completeness.Foreign banks were the sole outlier, improving their overall score from 90.7 to 91.4, supported by gains in completeness, timeliness and consistency, even as accuracy dipped slightly.At a parameter level, the quarterly movement in the index showed a mixed trend. Completeness and consistency improved across the system, while accuracy and timeliness weakened, indicating that although banks are furnishing more complete datasets, concerns remain around correctness and delays in submission.
