Bank retail lending moderates in December, farm and SME credit accelerates

Impact of Covid-19-induced economic disruption continues to linger, lenders say

Banks extended retail loans covering housing, vehicles, credit cards, etc worth Rs 18,840 crore in December 2020. The scale of lending in December was muted compared to volumes in Octoer and November 2020, when banks lent Rs Rs 39,780 crore and 33,107 crore respectively.

The business in these three months was marked by activity driven by the festive season and the start of busy season. Still, the impact of Covid-19-induced economic disruption continues to linger, bankers said.  

According to Reserve Bank of India data retail loans grew 9.5 per cent year-on-year basis in December 2020 as compared with 15.9 per cent growth