Share of personal loans in total credit rises to 24% in March 2020: RBI data

The share of personal loans in total bank credit grew to 24 per cent in March 2020 from 16.6 per cent five years ago, RBI data showed.

Advances to the industrial sector moderated further and its share in total credit declined to 30.6 per cent in March 2020 from 41.2 per cent in March 2015, according to 'Basic Statistical Return on Credit by Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) in India – March 2020', released by the RBI.

In the fiscal 2019-20, all bank groups recorded moderation in credit growth, though private sector banks continued to lead the growth.

With consistently high growth in retail lending, the share of the household sector, which includes individuals, Hindu undivided family (HUF), proprietary and partnership firms, among others, in total credit increased substantially to 51 per cent in March 2020 from 41.8 per cent in March 2015, the data showed.

Among individuals, female borrowers held 34.2 per cent of the loan accounts in March 2020 as compared with their 21.1 per cent share five years ago.

The share of female borrowers in total loan amount also increased to 22 per cent from 17.9 per cent over this period, RBI data showed.

The number of credit accounts with banks increased by 17.3 per cent (Y-o-Y) during 2019-20 and stood at 27.25 crore accounts in March 2020, reflecting increased penetration of bank lending.

Though less than one-fifth of the branches of banks were in the metropolitan areas, they accounted for 63.5 per cent of sanctioned credit and 59.3 per cent of credit utilisation, the data showed.