Bank credit to industry surges 20% in July; agriculture, services also see strong growth: RBI

New Delhi: Bank credit to industry grew 20 percent year-on-year in July 2026, more than tripling the growth recorded a year earlier, while lending to agriculture and allied activities rose 17 percent, indicating a broad-based acceleration in credit demand across key sectors.

According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data released on Monday, non-food bank credit expanded 19.1 percent year-on-year as on the fortnight ended July 31, 2026, compared with 9.9 percent growth in the corresponding fortnight a year ago.

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The latest sectoral credit data was compiled from 41 select scheduled commercial banks, which account for around 95 percent of total non-food credit.

Industrial credit growth accelerated sharply to 20 percent in July from 6.5 percent in the year-ago period. The RBI said lending to large and medium industries recorded faster growth, while credit to micro and small industries continued to expand at a steady pace.

Several major industrial segments recorded strong year-on-year credit growth. These included infrastructure, basic metals and metal products, engineering, chemicals and chemical products, petroleum and coal products and nuclear fuels, as well as textiles.

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Credit to agriculture and allied activities also picked up significantly, growing 17 percent year-on-year compared with 7.3 percent in the corresponding fortnight last year.

The services sector recorded an even stronger expansion, with bank credit rising 22.9 percent in July against 10.2 percent a year earlier. The acceleration was supported by higher lending to segments including non-banking financial companies, trade and commercial real estate.

Credit growth in the personal loans segment also strengthened to 16.2 percent from 11.9 percent in the year-ago period.

Within personal loans, housing and vehicle loans continued to register double-digit growth. However, growth in credit card outstanding and loans against gold jewellery moderated during the period.

The RBI's latest data points to a sharp acceleration in bank lending across industry, agriculture and services compared with a year earlier, with services and industrial credit recording particularly strong growth.

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