Non-food bank credit grows 6% in November, shows RBI data

Non-food credit growth of banks stood at 6 per cent in November 2020 as compared to 7.2 per cent in the same month of the previous year, RBI data showed.

Reversing the downtrend, credit growth to agriculture and allied activities accelerated to 8.5 per cent in November 2020 from 6.5 per cent in November 2019, the data on Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit - November 2020, released by the Reserve Bank of India showed.

Advances to industry contracted marginally by 0.7 per cent in November 2020 as compared with 2.4 per cent growth in the year-ago month.

This was mainly due to contraction in credit to large industries by 1.8 per cent in November 2020 (3 per cent growth a year ago), though credit to medium industries registered a robust growth of 20.9 per cent in November 2020 vis-a-vis contraction of 2.4 per cent a year ago, RBI said.

Within industry, credit to food processing, petroleum, coal products and nuclear fuels, leather and leather products, paper and paper products, mining and quarrying, glass and glassware, textile, beverages and tobacco and vehicles, vehicle parts and transport equipment registered accelerated growth in November 2020 as compared with the growth in the corresponding month of the previous year.

However, credit growth to rubber, plastic and their products, cement and cement products, all engineering, gems and jewellery, infrastructure, basic metal and metal products and construction decelerated/contracted, the data showed.

"Credit growth to the services sector accelerated to 8.8 per cent in November 2020 from 4.8 per cent in November 2019 mainly on the back of acceleration in credit growth to transport operators and trade within the services sector," RBI said.

During the reporting month, personal loans registered a growth of 10 per cent as compared with 16.4 per cent growth in November 2019.

Within this sector, vehicle loans continued to perform well, registering an accelerated growth of 10 per cent in November 2020 vis-a-vis a growth of 4.7 per cent in November 2019, RBI data showed.