Bank credit growth decelerated in November as economy slackened: RBI

Bank credit grew at a slow pace in November 2013 amidst high inflation and high interest which along with other factors, including overseas demand, kept the country's economic growth in the slow lane, latest data provided by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.

Credit provided by scheduled commercial banks in the country, excluding those for procurement of foodgrains, increased by 14.7 per cent in November 2013 compared with an increase of 17.6 per cent in November 2012.

Bank credit to agriculture and allied activities increased by 11.0 per cent in November 2013 compared with an increase of 21.1 per cent in November 2012.

Credit to industry increased by 13.7 per cent in November 2013 compared with the increase of 19.4 per cent November 2012. The deceleration in credit growth was observed in most sub-sectors barring rubber and plastic products, glass and glassware, vehicles, gems and jewellery and construction.

Credit to the service sector increased by 18.1 per cent in November 2013 compared with the increase of 12.7 per cent in November 2012.

Credit to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) increased by 15.9 per cent in November 2013 compared with the increase of 22.1 per cent in November 2012.

Personal loans increased by 15.2 per cent in November 2013 compared with the increase of 17.5 per cent in November 2012.

The data on sectoral deployment of credit has been collected from select 47 scheduled commercial banks, which together account for about 95 per cent of the total non-food credit deployed by all scheduled commercial banks, RBI said.