Aggregate deposits with banks registered a double-digit growth in the first quarter of the fiscal after a period of nearly two years, although expansion in bank credit declined marginally. The data comes at a time when the economy is in the midst of a slowdown, with GDP growth at 5 per cent for the first quarter of the fiscal.

Quarterly statistics on deposits and credit of scheduled commercial banks, released by the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday, showed that aggregate deposits grew 10.1 per cent in the quarter ended June 30, 2019, against 7 per cent a year ago.

This is the highest growth since the quarter ended June 2017 when aggregate deposits grew by 12.6 per cent.

“Aggregate deposits growth year-on-year) moved back to double-digits after two years; metropolitan branches achieved deposit growth of 10 per cent (from 5.5 per cent a year ago). Notwithstanding a modest pick-up, public sector banks continued to lag in deposit mobilisation,” the RBI said.

However, bank credit growth on an annual basis decelerated marginally on account of lower growth in lending by urban and metropolitan branches.

Bank credit between April and June this year grew by 11.7 per cent, against a growth of 11.1 per cent in the same period last fiscal. This was however, much lower than the 13.1 per cent growth in bank credit in the fourth quarter of last fiscal. “All bank groups recorded deceleration in credit growth during the April to June 2019 quarter,” the RBI said, adding that private sector banks led other bank groups in growing loan portfolios.

Private banks registered a growth of 16.3 per cent in aggregate deposits and of 17.5 per cent in bank credit in the first quarter of the fiscal, against public sector banks that had a deposit growth of 6.7 per cent and bank credit growth of 8.7 per cent in the quarter.

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