Bank credit growth accelerated to 19.26% year-on-year in the fortnight ended October 31, 2026, as festive-season demand boosted borrowing for homes, vehicles and consumer durables. Outstanding bank credit reached ₹237.03 lakh crore, while deposit growth remained slower at 16.76%, RBI data showed.
Mumbai, November 13 — Bank credit growth in India accelerated to 19.26% year-on-year in the fortnight ended October 31, 2026, compared with 17.94% in the previous fortnight, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The sharp increase came amid stronger demand for loans ahead of and during the festive season, particularly Diwali.
Outstanding bank credit increased to ₹237.03 lakh crore as of October 31, 2026, compared with ₹198.76 lakh crore on October 31, 2025.
Festive demand boosts borrowing
Demand for bank loans traditionally increases during the festive season as consumers step up purchases of big-ticket products.
Borrowing typically rises for categories such as consumer durables, homes and vehicles, helping push overall bank credit growth higher.
The latest RBI numbers indicate that this festive demand remained strong at the end of October.
Deposit growth rises to 16.76%
Bank deposit growth also improved, but continued to trail the pace of credit expansion.
Deposits increased 16.76% year-on-year as of October 31, compared with growth of 16.6% in the fortnight ended October 15.
Total bank deposits stood at ₹288.16 lakh crore, up from ₹249.79 lakh crore a year earlier.
Credit-deposit growth gap widens
With loans growing faster than deposits, the gap between credit and deposit growth widened considerably.
The difference increased to 2.5 percentage points as of October 31, compared with 1.34 percentage points in the previous fortnight.
Sustained faster credit growth indicates strong demand for loans, while also increasing the importance of deposit mobilisation by banks to support continued lending expansion.
Banks increase government securities investments
RBI data also showed that banks increased their investments in central and state government securities.
Such investments rose 9.36% year-on-year to ₹77.19 lakh crore as of October 31, 2026, compared with ₹70.58 lakh crore a year earlier.
Central government securities accounted for the largest share.
Investments in these securities increased to ₹77.03 lakh crore, compared with ₹70.49 lakh crore as of October 31, 2025.
The latest data highlights strong festive-season borrowing momentum, with credit growth significantly outpacing deposit growth at the end of October.
