India’s banks stronger than in the past, fuelling economic growth: RBI deputy chief

MUMBAI: The Indian financial system is stronger than in the past and the country’s economy is an outlier which is growing steadily even as the global financial system is facing strong headwinds, according to RBI Deputy Governor M. Rajeshwar Rao. “If we exclude post-COVID rebound in 2021-22, India's real GDP growth in 2023-24 surged to its highest since 2016-17, surpassing expectations. The period marked a shift in growth trajectory from an average of 7 per cent pre-2020 to an average of 8 per cent or higher during the subsequent period, driven largely by domestic factors. Inflation is currently forecast to average around 4.5 per cent in 2024-25 and 4.1 per cent in 2025-26,” he said in a recent address at the J P Morgan India Leadership Series Lecture.

“These macroeconomic conditions could, therefore, lay the foundation for sustainable future growth, improve consumption conditions, strengthen the investment climate, and enhance external competitiveness,” he added.

He pointed out that the Indian banking sector, in particular, has demonstrated significant improvement in key metrics such as capital adequacy, asset quality, and profitability, supported by robust macroeconomic fundamentals and business confidence. There has been sustained growth in credit expansion, primarily driven by personal loans and loans to the services sector.

The country’s banks have achieved a multi-year low in their gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio at 2.8 per cent and net non-performing assets (NNPA) ratio at 0.6 per cent, underscoring strong performance across various indicators. The profitability of banks also remained strong, evidenced by their Return on Equity (RoE) at 13.3 per cent and Return on Assets (RoA) at 13.8 per cent as of March 31, 2024.

At an aggregated level, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) also continue to maintain robust health indicators as of end-March 2024, with a CRAR of 26.6 per cent, GNPA ratio of 4.0 per cent, and RoA at 3.3 per cent, he said.

Rao also highlighted that India has achieved the highest climate change performance index (CCPI) score among G20 members in 2024, which reflects the country's unwavering commitment to this cause.