Indian Lending Growth Slows Amid Rising Risks to Banks, RBI Says
- Bad loans, sluggish profits contribute to bank risks
- Soured debt as a share of total rises to 5.1% end-September
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Loan growth at Indian banks slowed in the six months through September while bad loans rose, signaling increased risks to lenders, the Reserve Bank of India said in a report.
“Risks to the banking sector increased due to deteriorating asset quality, lower soundness and sluggish profitability,” the RBI, which is also the industry’s regulator, said in a report Wednesday. Credit growth slowed to 9.4 percent in the period from 9.7 percent at the end of March, the central bank said.