Banks lend over Rs 65,000 crore to commercial sector in a fortnight

After shrinking in the second half of October, bank credit to commercial sector moved into positive territory in early November as festive season kicked off.

Banks disbursed Rs 65,609 crore of credit in the fortnight ended November 6. In the previous fortnight (October 23, 2020), credit had contracted by Rs 5,983 crore.

The year-on-year growth inched up to 5.8 per cent (November 6, 2020) from 5.2 per cent (October 23, 2020), according to the Reserve Bank of India.

The outstanding credit to commercial sector was Rs 110.65 crore as on November 6, slightly higher than Rs 110.38 crore at end of March 2020.