Retail loan growth slows down to 15.7% in April 2019 from 19% April 2018

Credit card loans rose by 26.4% in April 2019, down from 35.2% in same month in 2018

The pace of credit expansion in retail segment covering areas like housing, credit card and personal loans slowed down in April, perhaps reflecting moderation in India’s economic growth.

Retail loans grew by 15.7 per cent (Year-on-Year) in April 2019, down from increase of 19.1 per cent in April 2018. Credit card loans rose by 26.4 per cent in April 2019, down from 35.2 per cent in same month in 2018, according to Reserve Bank of India data. 

Housing loans segment stood out showing further traction with 18.6 per cent in April 2019, up from 14.9 per cent in April 2019. The vehicle loan disbursement saw moderation in first month of new financial year. The pace of loan growth slowed down to 4.9 per cent in April 19 from 9.9 per cent a year ago. The personal loan growth was down to 21.4 per cent in April 2018 as against 35.5 per cent in April 2018, according to RBI data.   

In contrast to retail segment, the credit to industry saw a pick up lending. It posted 6.9 per cent growth in April 2019 as compared with an increase of 1.0 per cent in April 2018. The credit to the services sector expanded by 16.8 per cent in April 2019 as compared with an increase of 20.7 per cent in April 2018.

On a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, non-food bank credit increased by 11.9 per cent in April 2019 as compared with an increase of 10.7 per cent in April 2018.