Banks appear to have ended the first quarter of FY2011 on a high note. Credit and deposits spurted by Rs 91,973 crore and Rs 1,15,162 crore respectively in the fortnight ended July 2, 2010.
In the preceding fortnight, while bank credit increased by Rs 22,343 crore, deposits declined by Rs 23,761 crore, as per the scheduled commercial banks' statement of position compiled by the Reserve Bank of India.
Rush for short-term loans
In the reporting fortnight, the jump in credit can be attributed to the rush of India Inc to contract short-term loans at sub-Benchmark Prime Lending Rates (BPLR), ranging from 5-8 per cent
Sub-BPLR lending has become history with the RBI directing banks to usher in base rate lending regime with effect from July 1.
Moreover, banks have also reported demand for credit, among others, from sectors such as power, telecom/ telecom towers, and retail trade.
Bulk deposits
The surge in deposits could be attributed to banks' contracting bulk deposits at higher rates to overcome the liquidity squeeze arising from financing telecom companies' bids for getting licence for 3G spectrum and broadband wireless access, and India Inc's advance tax payments.
A banker said some telecom companies could have converted the margin money placed with banks to avail non-fund facilities for bidding for telecom spectrum into deposits once their bids got rejected. This could also have led to a significant jump in deposits.
In the reporting fortnight, investments too increased by Rs 18,087 crore against a fall of Rs 22,450 crore in the previous fortnight ended June 18.
As of July 2, 2010, deposits and advances of scheduled commercial banks' stood at Rs 46,32,703 crore and Rs 34,02,390 crore respectively. Their investments were at Rs 14,31,341 crore.
+1.jpg)
0 comments
Post a Comment