Bank credit growth
- How often
- Every fortnightFortnightly, in the Weekly Statistical Supplement
- Next release
- Fri 13 NovTomorrow · expected · 5:00 PM
15 October 2026, down from 19.4% on 30 September 2026.
Events on this chart
Source: RBI, released 23 Oct 2026 · Chart: Clarity UPSC
- Previous
- 19.4%30 Sep 2026
- Highest
- 19.4%30 Sep 2026
- Lowest
- 9.0%30 May 2025
Higher than 90% of the 53 readings since 20 Sep 2024.
Story
How fast bank loans are growing compared with a year ago.
What is happening now As of 15 Oct 2026
Bank credit of scheduled commercial banks grew 18.2% in the year to 15 October 2026, against 11.6% a year earlier. Loans outstanding reached ₹227.43 lakh crore, ₹35.07 lakh crore more than a year before. Deposits grew 16.7% over the same year, so loans are growing faster than deposits.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) describes credit growth as robust and broad-based. Its sector data for the fortnight ended 30 September 2026 show non-food credit up 19.1%: loans to services rose 28.3%, helped by strong lending to non-banking financial companies, trade and commercial real estate; loans to industry and to agriculture each rose 19.5%; and personal loans rose 17.3%. When the Monetary Policy Committee raised the repo rate on 7 October 2026, it named strong growth in money and credit as a risk of demand-driven inflation.
Why it matters
Bank credit shows how much the economy is borrowing to spend and invest. Firms borrow to build plants and buy materials; households borrow for homes, vehicles and education; farmers borrow for each crop season. Fast credit growth usually means strong demand. Slow growth can mean that firms are cautious or that banks are unwilling to lend.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) watches credit closely. Very fast growth can feed inflation, and careless lending in a boom can turn into bad loans later. When credit grows faster than deposits, banks must find other money to lend, which can push up deposit and loan rates.
What it is
Bank credit is the money that scheduled commercial banks in India have lent and not yet got back. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reports it in two parts: food credit and non-food credit.
The growth rate compares the amount outstanding on a reporting date with the amount a year earlier. The RBI publishes it in its Weekly Statistical Supplement. Since 15 December 2025 the reporting dates are the 15th and the last day of each month.
Credit grows when firms borrow to invest, households borrow for homes and vehicles, and banks are willing to lend. A cut in the repo rate makes loans cheaper and usually encourages borrowing; a hike does the reverse. When credit grows faster than deposits, banks must raise money in other ways to keep lending.
Read this number
- The publisher
- The Reserve Bank of India is India's central bank. It manages money supply, bank regulation, the rupee and the country's foreign exchange reserves.
Terms on this page (1)
- RBI
- Reserve Bank of India
History
- 1 Oct 2019New floating-rate retail loans and loans to micro and small enterprises must be linked to an external benchmark, such as the repo rate, and reset at least once every three months.
- 1 Jul 2023A non-bank lender merges with a bank. Its loans enter bank credit, which lifts year-on-year growth for the next 12 months.
- 15 Dec 2025Under the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025, reporting dates move from alternate Fridays to the 15th and the last day of each month.
Readings
| Period | Value | Status | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Oct 2026 | 18.2% | Final | 23 Oct 2026 |
| 30 Sep 2026 | 19.4% | Final | 9 Oct 2026 |
| 15 Sep 2026 | 18.1% | Final | 25 Sep 2026 |
| 31 Aug 2026 | 19.1% | Final | 11 Sep 2026 |
| 15 Aug 2026 | 18.3% | Final | 28 Aug 2026 |
| 31 Jul 2026 | 19.3% | Final | 14 Aug 2026 |
| 15 Jul 2026 | 17.7% | Final | 24 Jul 2026 |
| 30 Jun 2026 | 18.6% | Final | 10 Jul 2026 |
| 15 Jun 2026 | 17.7% | Final | 26 Jun 2026 |
| 31 May 2026 | 17.7% | Final | 12 Jun 2026 |
| 15 May 2026 | 16.2% | Final | 29 May 2026 |
| 30 Apr 2026 | 16.0% | Final | 8 May 2026 |
For UPSC
Know who publishes bank credit (the Reserve Bank of India, fortnightly), the split into food and non-food credit, and how policy rates reach loan rates through external benchmarks since October 2019. Read credit growth with deposit growth: the gap shows how far banks fund new loans from sources other than deposits.