Bank lending to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) touched an all-time high of Rs 19.05 lakh crore in January, up 18% on-year, data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday showed.
While credit to housing finance companies rose 8.5% on-year to Rs 3.53 lakh crore, for public financial institutions, it grew 39% to Rs 3.05 lakh crore.
Overall, bank credit to the services sector grew 15.5% on-year compared with 12.3% in the corresponding fortnight of the previous year. Besides the growth in NBFCs, the segment was supported by higher growth in trade and commercial real estate.
Bank credit to the personal loan segment was up 14.9% on-year against 11.9% a year ago. “While segments such as vehicle loans and loans against gold jewellery recorded accelerated credit growth, housing witnessed steady growth,” RBI said.
The growth in credit card outstanding came down drastically compared with a year ago as banks turned cautious towards the unsecured segment. Bank credit to the segment saw a y-o-y growth of just 1.5% in January compared with 13% a year ago. The consumer durable segment saw a de-growth of 4% on-year.
Bank credit to the industry rose to 12% on-year against 8.3% in the corresponding fortnight a year ago. Credit to the micro, small and medium industries continued to see a sharp rise, while that to large industries remained robust. Among major industries, outstanding credit to infrastructure, all engineering, chemical and chemical products, and textiles registered resilient on-year growth.
Bank loans to agriculture and allied activities saw a slight moderation in growth at 11.4% compared with 12.2 % in the corresponding period a year ago, the data showed.