Bank credit growth hits 3-year high of 13.1%

Bank credit grew 13.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the fortnight ended June 3, the highest in the past three years, the latest data released by the RBI shows. Growth in bank credit in the previous year was 5.7 per cent.

At an event, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said: “We are seeing reasonably satisfactory credit off take happening. It is about 12 per cent YoY, according to the latest data. Last year, around this time, credit growth was 5-6 per cent.”

In the fortnight concerned, banks extended incremental credit of Rs 1.02 trillion, taking the outstanding loans to Rs 121.40 trillion. Credit growth was even higher in April 2019, when it grew 14.19 per cent. The uptick comes amid a rise in lending rates.