Bank credit offtake and deposit mobilisation moderates in H1: RBI data

Deposit mobilisation and credit offtake in banking moderated in the first half this financial year (H1FY25) over the same period a year ago.

The moderation in credit offtake was much sharper with year-to-date (YTD) growth (till September 20) being 4.2 per cent as against 10.8 per cent for the first half of FY24 (H1FY24), according to the Reserve Bank of India data.

The RBI data showed YTD growth in deposits was 5 per cent for H1FY25 as against 6.9 per cent for H1FY24.

The figures factor in the effect of HDFC’s merger with HDFC Bank.

On a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis, bank credit growth declined to 13 per cent till September 20, 2024, from 20 per cent a year ago. Deposit growth moderated to 11.5 per cent from 13.2 percent a year ago.

In its outlook for the banking sector, CRISIL Ratings said bank credit growth was expected to moderate to 14 per cent in FY25 from about 16 per cent last financial year. While the fundamental drivers of credit demand remain supportive, somewhat slower economic growth (on a high base of 8.2 per cent in FY24) and a revision in risk weightings on lending to some of the faster-growing segments could temper growth.

In terms of funding, deposit growth should not be too far behind credit expansion. The differential between growth in credit and deposits is estimated to have narrowed to 3 percentage points in FY24 from 5 percentage points in FY23, the rating agency said.