SBI sees early signs of credit growth revival

 The country’s premier lender SBI on Tuesday said it is witnessing early signs of revival in credit growth as mid-corporates have started seeking fresh funds.

Addressing reporters on the sidelines of a banking function here, SBI MD & Group Expecutive for National Banking A Krishna Kumar said, “There are early signs of credit uptake as mid-size corporates are coming for fresh lending.”  However, Kumar said, “It is too early to predict a full-fledged credit revival based on these early figures.”

As per the RBI’s latest data, credit growth has been flat in the second quarter at 0.1 per cent to 16.4 per cent. However, there is less space for further reduction in interest rates in these segments as the spreads are already lowered in the retail segments, pointed out Kumar, saying, “We have already reduced our interest rates on home and auto loans, which is just above our base rate. So, there is less space for further reduction in interest rates in these segments.”