Bank Nifty Weightage: Five Banks Are 63% of the Index
Bank Nifty grew from 12 banks to 14 this year, and its three largest holdings were cut from about 60% of it to 43%. Five banks still decide most of what it does, and they are the same five that run FINNIFTY.
Figures checked · How we calculate
62.98%of Bank Nifty held in five banks, 30 September 2026
HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank and State Bank of India. The ten largest are 87.49%. The four smallest, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India and Yes Bank, share the remaining 12.51%.
The ten largest holdings are 87% of the index
| Bank | Weight, 30 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| HDFC Bank | 18.61% |
| ICICI Bank | 14.18% |
| Kotak Mahindra Bank | 10.20% |
| Axis Bank | 10.06% |
| State Bank of India | 9.93% |
| Federal Bank | 6.56% |
| IndusInd Bank | 4.97% |
| AU Small Finance Bank | 4.85% |
| IDFC First Bank | 4.54% |
| Bank of Baroda | 3.59% |
| Top ten | 87.49% |
Source: NSE Indices factsheet, 30 September 2026, the latest published. Weights move with prices every day, so later factsheets will differ. For today's figures, use NSE's factsheet or the monthly portfolio of any fund that tracks the index.
SEBI forced the index to spread out, and it still did not spread far
Until December 2025, Bank Nifty held at most 12 banks, and a single bank could be up to 33% of it, with the top three up to 62%.
A SEBI circular of 29 May 2025 required every index with futures and options, other than the main benchmarks, to hold at least 14 companies, with no more than 20% in one and 45% in the top three. NSE's response, announced on 1 December 2025:
- Fourteen banks. Union Bank of India and Yes Bank joined on 31 December 2025.
- Caps of 19%, 14% and 10% on the three largest, and every bank below them must weigh less than the one above.
- Four steps, not one. The big banks' weights were cut in monthly tranches from December 2025 to March 2026, so funds tracking the index did not have to sell their excess HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank shares in a single day.
The top three are now 42.99% of the index, against about 60% before the change. That is a real change. It is also why the caps exist: left to market value alone, HDFC Bank would take far more than 19%.
The caps apply on rebalancing day. Between rebalancings, weights drift with share prices, which is why ICICI Bank was at 14.18% and Kotak at 10.20% on 30 September, each just above its cap. The next rebalancing takes effect in March 2027.
If you own FINNIFTY too, you own the same five banks twice
NSE applied the same caps to FINNIFTY at the same time, and the five largest holdings are the same banks in both. On 30 September 2026:
| Bank | Bank Nifty | FINNIFTY | Nifty 50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Bank | 18.61% | 18.63% | 10.38% |
| ICICI Bank | 14.18% | 14.20% | 9.05% |
| Kotak Mahindra Bank | 10.20% | 10.11% | 2.93% |
| Axis Bank | 10.06% | 10.18% | 3.37% |
| State Bank of India | 9.93% | 9.94% | 3.79% |
| Five banks together | 62.98% | 63.06% | 29.52% |
The difference between the two sector indices is in the other third. FINNIFTY's is lenders that are not banks, such as Bajaj Finance and Shriram Finance, plus insurers and the BSE. Bank Nifty's is nine smaller banks. The FINNIFTY weightage post has its full list.
A Nifty 50 index fund already puts 29.52% of your money into these five banks. Adding a Bank Nifty fund doubles a position you already hold, rather than adding something you lack.
One bank's bad quarter moves the whole index
If HDFC Bank's shares fall 20% on a bad result and nothing else moves, Bank Nifty falls about 3.7%. The Nifty 50 falls about 2%.
And the other thirteen banks rarely sit still. An RBI rate decision, a change in lending rules or a rise in bad loans reaches every bank in the index in the same week. Diversification works by combining things that react differently to the same event. Fourteen banks react the same way.
Over five years it beat the Nifty 50, with 23% more swings
In the five years to 30 September 2026, Bank Nifty returned 8.72% a year including dividends, against the Nifty 50's 6.38%. ₹1 lakh became about ₹1,51,900 in Bank Nifty and ₹1,36,200 in the Nifty 50: ₹15,700 more. Over the same five years FINNIFTY returned 7.14%.
It swung more to earn that. Bank Nifty's five-year volatility was 16.96%, against 13.82% for the Nifty 50, about 23% higher. In the latest year it held up better than either: Bank Nifty returned 0.65%, FINNIFTY −4.42% and the Nifty 50 −7.09%.
Banks have had a good five years. That says nothing reliable about the next five, which depend on the credit cycle, and nobody can tell you how that turns.
Who Bank Nifty is for
Investors with a specific view on Indian banks. If you have a considered, multi-year opinion on credit growth and bank margins, a Bank Nifty fund is a cheap way to act on it. Know that most of the bet is on five banks.
Derivatives traders, on a monthly cycle. Weekly Bank Nifty options ended in November 2024, when SEBI limited each exchange to weekly options on one index; NSE kept the Nifty 50's. Bank Nifty futures and options now expire monthly. SEBI's own study found that 93% of individual F&O traders lost money between FY22 and FY24.
Not first-time investors. A Nifty 50 index fund gives you these five banks already, plus the rest of the economy. Start there with how to choose an index fund.
Frequently asked questions
How many stocks are in Bank Nifty? Fourteen, since 31 December 2025. Before that it held at most twelve.
What is the maximum weight of one stock in Bank Nifty? At each rebalancing, the largest bank is capped at 19%, the second at 14% and the third at 10%. Between rebalancings, price moves can push a bank slightly above its cap.
Bank Nifty's PE is 12.95. Is it cheap? Against the Nifty 50's 19.36, it looks it. But banks usually trade on lower multiples of profit than the wider market, because their profit depends on loans that can still go bad. Compare Bank Nifty's PE with its own history, not with the Nifty 50's.
Is Bank Nifty the same as FINNIFTY? No, but the top five holdings are the same banks at almost the same weights. FINNIFTY adds lenders that are not banks, insurers and exchanges. Bank Nifty holds only banks.
How do I invest in Bank Nifty? Through an index fund or ETF that tracks it. The index itself is a calculation and cannot be bought directly. Its futures and options are a different activity, with different risks.