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Proving sceptics wrong, 2020-21 turned out to be the best in recent years for Indian banks in terms of their financial performance.
The pandemic-hit financial year was marked by a “discernible increase” in profitability, as banks’ income remained stable but expenditure declined, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) observed in the annual Trends & Progress Report.
During the year, total income of banks remained stable, despite a marginal decline in the largest component — interest income — in an environment characterised by low credit offtake and interest rates, the report said. “The fall (interest income) was cushioned by a sizable increase in
