Growth in bank credit, especially to retail, industry, and agriculture remained steady in November, reflecting the effect of economic upturn and festival demand.

       In a statement, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that retail loans continued to expand in double digits and recorded a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 11.6 per cent in November, as against the 9.2 per cent growth recorded in November, last year. The growth was driven primarily by consumer durables and vehicle loans.

       Credit growth to the industry rose 3.8 per cent in November compared with a 0.7-per cent growth in the corresponding period last year. Credit to medium industries showed a robust growth of 48.7 per cent in November compared with 25.7 per cent last year. Micro and small industries loans accelerated 12.7 per cent in November, against 0.6 per cent in the year-ago period.

       Credit to large industries in November remained broadly at the same level as last year. Many large companies actually repaid old loans or replaced them with fresh credit at cheaper rates.

       Credit to agriculture and allied activities continued to be robust at 10.4 per cent in November, against 7.0 per cent in November, last year.

       The loan off-take in the services sector was, however, weak, as reflected in the pace of credit growth. The credit growth to services sector registered a growth of 3.6 per cent in November, against 8.2 per cent a year ago, the RBI said.