Monday, June 8, 2009

Bank credit declines second time this fiscal

Bank credit declines second time this fiscal
The Hindu Business Line, June 6, 2009, Page 1

Our Bureau, Mumbai

The total bank credit fell by Rs 16,306 crore to Rs 27,35,750 crore during the fortnight ended May 22, 2009, according to the latest figures released by the Reserve Bank of India.

This is the second time in this fiscal that net bank credit has declined. Earlier, bank credit had declined by Rs 25,266 crore during the fortnight ended April 24, 2009.

In the earlier fortnight ended May 8, bank credit had increased by Rs 5,882 crore to Rs 27,52,056 crore.

For the latest fortnight, non-food credit fell by Rs 18,571 crore to Rs 26,78,265 crore, while food credit rose by Rs 2,265 crore to Rs 57,483 crore.

The growth in bank credit in the current fiscal so far has been 15.9 per cent, which is lower than the 25.3 per cent growth recorded in the corresponding period last year.

Accordig to bank officials, repayment of short-term loans given to corporates in March and easing of overseas liquidity could be the reasons for the fall in domestic bank credit.

Corporates are believed to be holding back their expansion plans pending the announcement of the Union Budget. There is also an expectation that interest rates could see a further downward revision, as a meeting of the Finance Minister and bank chiefs is scheduled for next week.

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