A recent press report said that bankers are looking for a break in the rate hike as they are experiencing slowdown in loan demand. Banks are not experiencing the same speed of loan demand in sectors like power, road and telecom, as last year.
Mr. MD Mallya, chairman of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) told the press that the infrastructure sector which consumed a lot of credit last year has not put forward many proposals this year.
The IBA chairman told that the central bank has warned the banks against overexposure to the infrastructure sector, but as far as lending is concerned commercial real estate may include residential projects at times.
Reports also said that the bankers felt that the home loan market has gone down at present but prices have not yet come down. The bankers said that they were concerned high inflationary pressures and the impact on interest rates. They also expressed concerns about the quality of loans to SMEs on account of the slowdown in the global economy.
The bankers added saying that they were focusing on raising more CASA (current accounts and savings accounts) deposits, especially in the savings accounts segment.