Bank credit to industry grows 18.2% in August, up from 7% last year: RBI

New business data points to the fact that Bank credit to industry grew 18.2 per cent in August, up from 7 per cent in the same period last year, according to Reserve Bank data released on Wednesday.

The RBI has released data on sectoral deployment of bank credit for August 2026, collected from 41 select scheduled commercial banks, which together account for around 95 per cent of the total non-food credit by all SCBs.

On a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, non-food bank credit grew 18.8 per cent as on the fortnight ended August 31, 2026, compared to 10.2 per cent during the corresponding fortnight of the previous year (September 5, 2025).

"While credit to 'large' and 'medium' industries grew at an accelerated pace, 'micro and small' industries sustained steady expansion," the RBI stated.

Among major industries, credit to 'infrastructure', 'all engineering', 'basic metal and metal products', 'chemical and chemical products', 'food processing', 'textiles', 'construction' and 'petroleum, coal products and nuclear fuels' exhibited buoyant year-on-year expansion.

Credit to services sector registered a expansion of 24.3 per cent (10.3 per cent in the corresponding fortnight of the previous year), supported by robust expansion in segments such as 'non-banking financial firms' (NBFCs), 'trade', 'professional services' and 'commercial real estate'.

Advances to personal loans segment grew 16.9 per cent from 11.9 per cent a year ago.

While segments such as 'housing' and 'vehicle loans' sustained double-digit expansion, 'credit card outstanding' and 'loans against gold jewellery' decelerated.

Bank credit to agriculture and allied activities registered a year-on-year expansion of 17.2 per cent vis-a-vis 7.6 per cent in the corresponding fortnight of the previous year.