Personal loan increased by 14 percent to 55 lakh crores; credit card dues highest, home loan demand lowest

There has been a sharp rise in the personal loans so easily available with banks and other financial institutions. It jumped 14.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 55.3 lakh crore by the end of July.

According to RBI data, the share of personal loans remains highest at 32.9% in the non-food loans. This is followed by services with a share of 27.4%, industry by 22.2%, and agriculture and related activities by 12.8%.

The report said credit card dues have grown the quickest till the end of July, but its share in all bank borrowings totals to just one percent. It has crossed Rs 2.8 lakh crore with a growth of 22 percent on an annual basis.

Similarly, loan taken against gold jewellery has increased by a whopping 39 per cent. But its share in the total personal loan is just 0.8 per cent. This shows people are making the most of the loans available within hours. Actually, loan against gold is available immediately and its interest is around the same as that of personal loan.

The report said notwithstanding the weak growth, relatively high growth of 18.1 percent was witnessed in loans given to agriculture and related activities. The total loan has reached Rs 21.6 lakh crore. Loans given to industry have increased by 13.7 percent.

The figures indicate that home loans have the lowest demand. During the period, its pace increased by only 12.8 percent. The size of the total home loan has now crossed Rs 28 lakh crore. All the statistics show that in recent times, prices of houses in the top 8 cities have increased tremendously. However, sales have also been quite good. Despite this, the rate of demand for home loans has remained low.