Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of 28th round of its quarterly Bank Lending Survey[1], which captures qualitative assessment and expectations of major scheduled commercial banks on credit parameters (viz., loan demand as well as terms and conditions of loans) for major economic sectors[2]. The latest round of the survey, which was conducted during Q1:2024-25, collected senior loan officers’ assessment of credit parameters for Q1:2024-25 and their expectations for Q2, Q3 and Q4 of 2024-25. Highlights: A. Assessment for Q1:2024-25
- Bankers’ growth assessment of loan demand recorded a seasonal moderation across major sectors during Q1:2024-25 (Chart 1 and Table 1).
- Respondents reported continuation of easy loan terms and conditions for major sectors, except mining; relative prudence was also reported for retail/personal loans and agricultural credit (Table 2).
B. Expectations for Q2:2024-25
- Bankers remained optimistic on loan demand across major sectors barring mining and quarrying (Table 1).
- Overall, easy loan terms and conditions are expected to prevail during the quarter; lower optimism is, however, reported for the retail/ personal loans (Table 2).
C. Expectations for Q3 and Q4 of 2024-25
- Bankers remain upbeat on loan demand across major sectors for the subsequent quarters of the financial year 2024-25 (Table 3).
- Easy loan terms and conditions are expected to continue in the second half of 2023-24, except for the mining sector; the infrastructure sector loans are perceived to witness relatively less softer loan terms.
Table 1: Sector-wise Loan Demand - Net Response[3] |
(per cent) |
Sector |
Assessment Period |
Expectations Period |
Q4:2023-24 |
Q1:2024-25 |
Q1:2024-25 |
Q2:2024-25 |
All Sectors |
44.2 |
36.5 |
42.3 |
38.5 |
Agriculture |
35.0 |
28.3 |
31.7 |
36.7 |
Mining and Quarrying |
13.3 |
1.7 |
6.7 |
1.7 |
Manufacturing |
41.4 |
36.2 |
34.5 |
34.5 |
Infrastructure |
35.0 |
15.0 |
26.7 |
30.0 |
Services |
42.9 |
41.1 |
35.7 |
33.9 |
Retail/Personal |
48.0 |
34.0 |
34.0 |
44.0 |
Table 2: Sector-wise Loan Terms and Conditions - Net Response |
(per cent) |
Sector |
Assessment Period |
Expectations Period |
Q4:2023-24 |
Q1:2024-25 |
Q1:2024-25 |
Q2:2024-25 |
All Sectors |
14.8 |
16.7 |
18.5 |
16.7 |
Agriculture |
15.5 |
13.3 |
17.2 |
16.7 |
Mining and Quarrying |
-5.2 |
-1.8 |
-3.4 |
1.8 |
Manufacturing |
15.0 |
22.4 |
13.3 |
22.4 |
Infrastructure |
10.0 |
10.3 |
13.3 |
13.8 |
Services |
14.3 |
21.4 |
16.1 |
21.4 |
Retail/Personal |
16.7 |
15.2 |
16.7 |
10.9 |
Table 3: Sector-wise Expectations for Extended Period - Net Response |
(per cent) |
Sector |
Loan Demand |
Loan Terms and Conditions |
Q3:2024-25 |
Q4:2024-25 |
Q3:2024-25 |
Q4:2024-25 |
All Sectors |
44.4 |
46.3 |
22.2 |
20.4 |
Agriculture |
36.7 |
40.0 |
16.7 |
18.3 |
Mining and Quarrying |
10.3 |
12.1 |
-1.7 |
-1.7 |
Manufacturing |
43.3 |
48.3 |
15.0 |
15.0 |
Infrastructure |
34.5 |
36.2 |
12.1 |
10.3 |
Services |
44.6 |
48.2 |
19.0 |
19.0 |
Retail/Personal |
48.2 |
55.4 |
23.2 |
19.6 |
Note: Please see the attached excel file for detailed time series data.
[1] The results of 27th round of the BLS with reference period as January-March 2024 were released on the RBI website on April 05, 2024. The survey results reflect the views of the respondents, which are not necessarily shared by the Reserve Bank.
[2] The survey questionnaire is canvassed among major 30 SCBs, which together account for over 90 per cent of credit by SCBs in India.
[3] Net Response (NR) is computed as the difference of percentage of banks reporting increase/optimism and those reporting decrease/pessimism in respective parameter. The weights of +1.0, 0.5, 0, -0.5 and -1.0 are assigned for computing NR from aggregate per cent responses on 5-point scale, i.e., substantial increase/ considerable easing, moderate increase/ somewhat easing, no change, moderate decrease/ somewhat tightening, substantial decrease/ considerable tightening for loan demand/loan terms and conditions parameters respectively. NR ranges between -100 to 100. Any value greater than zero indicates expansion/optimism and any value less than zero indicates contraction/pessimism. Increase in loan demand is considered optimism (Tables 1), while for loan terms and conditions, a positive value of net response indicates easy terms and conditions (Table 2).
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