Bank lending grew 18.8% in a year to August, nearly double last year
Non-food bank credit rose 18.8% in the year to August 31, 2026, against 10.2% a year earlier, with services, industry, farms and personal loans all growing faster.
Official title: Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit – August 2026 · Press Release 2026-2027/1219
What happened
Banks are lending much faster than a year ago. Non-food credit, the standard measure of bank loans to the economy, grew 18.8% in the year to August 31, 2026, compared with 10.2% in the same period last year. The data come from 41 banks that make up about 95% of such lending.
Loans to the services sector grew fastest, at 24.3% (10.3% a year ago), led by lending to NBFCs, traders, professional services and commercial real estate. Industry loans grew 18.2% (7.0% a year ago), with large and medium firms speeding up and small firms growing steadily. Farm loans grew 17.2% (7.6% a year ago).
Personal loans grew 16.9%, up from 11.9%. Housing and vehicle loans kept growing at double-digit rates. Credit card dues and gold loans grew more slowly than before.
What it means for you
Households are borrowing more: personal loans are up 16.9% in a year, led by home and car loans. Slower growth in credit card dues and gold loans suggests less pressure on these costlier forms of borrowing.
What it means for businesses
Credit to industry, including small businesses, is flowing much faster than last year, which usually signals firms are expanding. NBFCs and commercial real estate developers are getting more bank funding.
Links in this release, explained
- Sectoral credit Statements I and II (Excel)
The detailed Excel tables behind the release, showing loans outstanding and growth for each sector and industry. Open it to see figures for a specific segment, such as education loans or MSMEs.
rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/content/docs/SIBC30092026ENG.xlsx
Read the original
Press release on rbi.org.in ↗ Official PDF ↗
This explainer simplifies the official text. If anything here differs from the RBI's release, the release is right.