Deposits registered a healthy growth in the first fortnight of the current financial year, while loans declined, in a period which is marked by limited economic activity due to the nationwide lockdown.
According to latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), liabilities of banks grew by ₹1.47 lakh crore for the fortnight ended April 10. During the same period, bank credit contracted by ₹31,562 crore.
The government imposed a nationwide lockdown in the last week of March to control the spread of COVID-19.
The 21-day lockdown was later extended till May 3. Some economic activities like harvesting has been allowed in the second phase of lockdown. Bank loans grew by a whopping ₹2.31 lakh crore in the fortnight ended March 27, 2020, indicating robust loan demand.
Credit growth for the year ended March 27 was 6.1%, one of the lowest in many years, which was 13.3% in the previous year. Deposit growth for the financial year 2019-20 was 7.9% as compared to 10% in the previous year.
