Credit offtake expanded by Rs. 20.4 lakh crore, deposits by Rs 23.9 lakh crore over the last 12 months

The credit offtake continued to grow at the rate of 13.9% year-on-year to reach Rs. 168.1 lakh crore for the fortnight ending July 12, 2024. However, the pace of growth was slow, a Care Edge report said.

Credit offtake is a type of bank credit that assists businesses in getting financing for future projects. The credit offtake increased by 14.0% year-on-year, but declined by 0.4% sequentially for the fortnight ended July 12, 2024.

Over the last twelve months, credit offtake expanded by Rs. 20.4 lakh crore. The report attributed the sluggishness to the higher base effect and banks' focus on restraining the credit-to-deposit (CD) ratio. Deposits grew by 11.3 % year-on-year for the fortnight, including the impact of the HDFC merger, reaching Rs. 211.8 lakh crore, driven by growth in time deposits.

"The Credit to Deposit ratio stood at 79.4 % for the fortnight (July 12, 2024). Meanwhile, if we study the credit and deposit inflows over the past 3 months and 6 months, we can observe that credit offtake has lagged the deposit growth numbers. Hence, the CD ratio derived from these flows from January would be around 70% and from March would be approximately 54%," the report added.

The report added that going forward, bank credit offtake could face challenges, and is likely to be tepid for the entire year. Inflows over the past three and six months show credit offtake at 5.3% for six months and 2.3% for three months, lagging behind deposit growths of 6.0% and 3.4% respectively. Deposits rose by 11.3% year-on-year for the fortnight, but declined by 0.5 % sequentially.

In absolute terms, deposits expanded by Rs. 23.9 lakh crore over the last twelve months. The report anticipated that the deposit is expected to be strong in FY25, as banks focus on strengthening their liability franchise, sourcing funds through certificates of deposit, despite higher costs. As per the data in the report, the absolute growth in credit offtake was Rs. 8.4 lakh crore for six months, and Rs. 3.8 lakh crore for three months, lagging behind deposit growth of Rs. 11.9 lakh crore and Rs. 7.0 lakh crore for the same periods.

The CD ratio has floated around 80 % since September 2023, standing at 79.4 % for the fortnight ending July 12, 2024, as per the report.