Mumbai: Bank credit grew at tepid 3.7 percent rate during the first nine months of the past financial year at Rs 63,51,900 crore, according to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Monday.
The number of borrowal accounts increased by 3.7 percent to 12.2 crore in December 2014 from 11.7 crore in March 2014, according to the first quarterly data on Basic Statistical Return (BSR 1): Outstanding Credit of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs), December 2014', released by RBI.
Rural and semi-urban centres registered higher growth in credit during the nine months of 2014-15 at 9.8 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively compared with lower growth observed in urban and metropolitan centres at 4.3 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.
Small borrowal accounts each with credit limit up to Rs 2 lakh, constituting three-fourths of total number of borrowal accounts, had a share of 7.3 percent in total outstanding credit in December 2014.
The share of credit to 'agriculture' sector in the gross bank credit decreased to 11.4 percent in December 2014 from 12 percent in March 2014, whereas for 'industry' sector the share increased marginally to 43 percent from 42.7 percent, RBI data showed.
The share of 'personal housing loans' increased to 9.4 percent in December 2014 from 8.5 percent in March 2014. The weighted average interest rate of all loans and advances declined to 11.85 percent as at the end of December 2014 from 12.04 percent as at end March 2014, the data showed.
