Commercial realty, retail see buoyancy in credit flow

Bank credit to commercial real estate, a sector under regulatory scanner, rose by 14.9 per cent in the 10 months ended January, as against a fall of 4.4 per cent during April 2009-January 2010. According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, as of January 28, outstanding credit to commercial realty stood at Rs 1,05,884 crore.

Reflecting a rise in retail consumption and expenditure, the growth in personal loans accelerated by 12.8 per cent, as against an increase of just 1.4 per cent in the year-ago period. Categories like housing, advances against fixed deposits, vehicle loans and education also saw a pick-up in credit, according to RBI data.

 

The personal loan portfolio of banks stood at Rs 6,60,521 crore as of January-end, up from Rs 5,85, 663 crore at the close of 2009-10.

Non-food gross bank credit grew by 14.6 per cent, up from 8.9 per cent a year ago.

Except agriculture, all major sectors recorded an accelerated credit growth on-year. Besides infrastructure, sectors like metals, engineering, food processing, rubber, plastic and their products and cement & cement products saw substantial offtake in credit.

Credit flow to the agriculture sector grew by 5.3 per cent, as against 6.5 per cent a year ago. Credit to the services sector rose by 16.5 per cent, as against 6.1 per cent during April 2009-January 10.