Mumbai: Lenders are seeing a revival in corporate credit growth, led by demand from oil and gas, infrastructure, metals, power and large non-bank financial companies, as India Inc steps up capital expenditure and draws more working capital amid stronger economic activity.Bankers expect the momentum to strengthen further as multiple trade agreements expand export opportunities, encourage capacity additions and boost cross-border supply chains.State Bank of India (SBI) reported a 13.4% year-on-year rise in its ₹13.33 lakh crore corporate loan book for the quarter ended December, accelerating from 7.1% growth in the September quarter. The country’s largest lender has a corporate loan pipeline of about ₹8 lakh crore, of which ₹3.5 lakh crore has already been disbursed, while ₹4.5 lakh crore remains under sanctioned limits.Among private lenders, HDFC Bank posted a 10.3% growth in its ₹7.7 lakh crore corporate loan book in the last quarter, up from 6.4% in the previous quarter. ICICI Bank’s domestic corporate portfolio of about ₹3 lakh crore grew 5.6% year-on-year and 6.5% sequentially. Axis Bank reported a sharp 27% expansion in its ₹3.75 lakh crore corporate loan book in the December quarter, compared with 20% year-on-year growth in the September quarter.128083444Growth on an even keelThis is up from 7.1% growth in the September quarter. The country’s largest lender has a corporate loan pipeline of about ₹8 lakh crore, of which ₹3.5 lakh crore has already been disbursed, while ₹4.5 lakh crore remains under sanctioned limits.Among private lenders, HDFC Bank posted a 10.3% growth, with a ₹7.7 lakh crore corporate loan book in the previous quarter, up from 6.4% in the previous quarter. ICICI Bank’s domestic corporate portfolio grew 5.6% year-on-year and 6.5% sequentially to about ₹3 lakh crore. Axis Bank reported a sharp 27% expansion to a ₹3.75 lakh crore corporate loan book, compared with 20% year-on-year growth in the September quarter.“Economic activity has really picked up after GST rationalisation, resulting in higher working capital utilisation,” CS Setty, chairman of SBI, told analysts after announcing the October-December results. “We are seeing several sectors where long-term loans are being drawn, and there is good visibility in the pipeline.”Setty said the upcoming trade deals would not only benefit large corporates but also a wide base of small businesses integrated into global value chains. SBI is well positioned to take advantage of the emerging scenario, he added. Bankers said the combination of a strengthening domestic investment cycle, improving capacity utilisation and anticipated benefits from trade agreements—such as higher exports, new manufacturing investments and deeper supply-chain linkages—could keep corporate loan growth on a firm footing in the coming quarters.“One key change over the past couple of quarters has been the settling of benchmarks, with a large part of lending now happening at external benchmark-linked rates,” said Anindya Banerjee, group CFO at ICICI Bank, during a post-earnings analyst call.Vijay Mulbagal, group executive at Axis Bank, said, “The growth is largely driven by strong client engagement and materially faster turnaround times, compared with the broader market. It’s primarily led by power, corporate real estate and diversified conglomerates.”
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