MUMBAI: Although deposit growth has come close to paralleling credit growth, banks still lag behind in terms of total deposit receipts, according to Reserve Bank data.
The total deposits received by banks in the first ten months of 2024 are Rs 10,000 crore less than the deposits received in the same period last year. Banks received Rs 19.60 lakh crore as deposits in the January to October period of the current year, up from Rs 19.70 lakh crore in the first ten months of 2023. One reason deposit growth is now equal to loan growth is that loan withdrawals are slowing.
Banks had increased deposit rates earlier this year to attract deposits, but facing pressure on margins, banks are no longer able to raise deposit rates, a banker said. He said investors were moving away due to low returns on deposits compared to other asset classes, leading to a decline in deposit numbers. After a period of two and a half years, after the credit growth in the fortnight of October 18 of the current year was higher than the credit growth, deposit growth was almost at par with the credit growth in the fortnight of November 1, RBI data said earlier.
The level of deposit growth in the fortnight of November 15 was higher than the credit growth. In the fortnight of November 15, the level of credit growth in the banking sector declined year-on-year to 11.15 percent. Deposit growth was 11.21 percent.
According to data released by the Reserve Bank, at the end of the fortnight of November 15, the outstanding deposits in the banking sector stood at Rs 218.54 trillion, while the outstanding loans stood at Rs 173.62 trillion.