Bank loans up nearly 16% YoY: RBI data

New bank loans grew by 15.8% YoY in the fortnight ended Feb. 26, according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). At 11.5%, Year-to-Date (FY10) loan growth improved sequentially by 130 bps over the past fortnight. Banks disbursed Rs376bn worth of new loans in the second half of February and these numbers could only improve over the next two fortnights. "We expect full-year loan growth to be around 15%, driven mainly by consumer and infrastructure loans," IIFL said in a note to its clients. Cumulatively, banks have disbursed Rs3,193bn of loans since March 2009. Of the total loan growth, over 38% of loans (Rs1,201bn) have been disbursed during December-February, 2010 period. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its third quarter monetary policy, had scaled down the credit growth target to 16% YoY from 8% YoY earlier, implying cumulatively disbursement of Rs4.4tn during the current fiscal year. Deposits grew by 16.8% YoY in the fortnight ended Feb. 26. Deposit growth regained momentum in the fortnight under review, with banks adding Rs636bn worth of deposits, as opposed to only Rs45bn in the previous fortnight. Incremental LDR further improved to 67.1% against 38% in October 2009.