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A survey conducted by industry body FICCI and banking association Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has showed that the health of the Indian banking sector continues to improve with better asset quality and high credit growth. The eighteenth round of the survey was carried out for the period July to December 2023.

Those banks that were surveyed together represent about 77 per cent of the banking industry, as classified by asset size. India’s economy held relatively well (estimated 7.6 per cent) in 2023-24 compared to other major economies driven by strong investment growth and a rebound in industrial activity. Credit growth also continued to rise, supported by factors such as economic expansion and a continued push for retail credit which has been supported by improving digitalisation. The banking sector’s clean balance sheets support further loan growth going forward.

The survey findings showed that long term credit demand has seen continued growth for sectors such as Infrastructure, metals, iron and steel, food processing. Infrastructure is witnessing an increase in credit flow with 82 per cent of the respondents indicating an increase in long-term loans as against 67 per cent in the previous round. The joint survey suggested that the outlook for non-food industry credit over next 6 months is optimistic with 41 per cent of the participating banks expecting non-food industry credit growth to be above 12 per cent while 18 per cent feel that non-food industry credit growth would be in the range of 10-12 per cent. Further, 36 per cent of the respondents are of the view that non-food industry credit growth would be in the range of 8-10 per cent.