Stock-pickers gain in muted year for BFSI

Over 18% of BFSI stocks delivered over 25% returns in FY26 even as headline indices fell.

- Mayur Bhalerao

India’s banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector may have had a muted year on the surface, but a closer look tells a very different story.

FY26, marked by global uncertainty, earnings downgrades and foreign investor outflows, did not reward broad sector bets—but it strongly rewarded stock-pickers.

A Mint analysis of 724 BFSI stocks shows that nearly one in five companies delivered strong gains despite weak benchmark performance. As many as 131 stocks, or over 18% of the universe, generated returns of more than 25% during the year. This stands in contrast to headline indices such as the Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services, which fell about 2.5% and 6.2%, respectively, and remained under pressure for most of FY26.

The divergence highlights a shift in market behaviour from sector-driven rallies to company-specific performance. The list of outperformers reflects this trend. MCX surged 124%, LKP Finance gained 112%, while RBL Bank and L&T Finance rose 67% and 57%, respectively. These gains were driven by individual factors such as earnings recovery, improving asset quality or business-specific triggers, rather than any broad-based sector tailwind.