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PDF - Bank Lending Survey for Q2:2026-27 ()
Date : Oct 07, 2026
Bank Lending Survey for Q2:2026-27

Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of 37th round of its Bank Lending Survey (BLS)1, which captures qualitative assessment and expectations of major scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) on credit parameters (viz., loan demand as well as terms and conditions of loans) for major economic sectors2. The latest round of the survey, which was conducted during Q2:2026-27, collected senior loan officers’ assessment of credit parameters for Q2:2026-27 and their expectations for Q3 and Q4:2026-27 and Q1:2027-28.

Highlights:

A.Assessment for Q2:2026-27

  • Bankers reported improved optimism in credit demand across major sectors of the economy during Q2:2026-27 (Chart 1 and Table 1).

  • Bankers indicated some easing in loan terms and conditions at the aggregate level (Table 2).

B. Expectations for Q3:2026-27

  • Bankers’ expectations on loan demand improved across sectors (except for agriculture sector) in Q3:2026-27 majorly driven by seasonal demand.

  • Overall loan terms and conditions are expected to remain unchanged during Q3:2026-27 over previous quarter (Table 1 and 2).

C. Expectations for Q4:2026-27 and Q1:2027-28

  • Going forward, bankers’ expectations on loan demand exhibited sustained optimism in upcoming quarters (Table 3).

Chart 1: Loan Demand -All Sectors

Table 1: Sector-wise Loan Demand - Net Response3
(per cent)
Sector Assessment Period Expectations Period
Q1:2026-27* Q2:2026-27 Q2:2026-27* Q3:2026-27
All Sectors 32.1 46.7 37.5 43.3
Agriculture 28.3 41.7 35.0 30.0
Mining and Quarrying 8.9 0.0 5.4 12.1
Manufacturing 34.5 46.7 39.7 50.0
Infrastructure 41.4 36.7 34.5 40.0
Services 31.0 45.0 34.5 40.0
Retail/Personal 19.6 41.7 41.1 43.3
* Based on the previous round’s response.

Table 2: Sector-wise Loan Terms and Conditions - Net Response
(per cent)
Sector Assessment Period Expectations Period
Q1:2026-27* Q2:2026-27 Q2:2026-27* Q3:2026-27
All Sectors 14.8 16.7 16.7 16.7
Agriculture 15.5 11.7 17.2 13.3
Mining and Quarrying -3.7 0.0 -3.7 1.7
Manufacturing 12.5 21.7 17.9 23.3
Infrastructure 8.6 6.7 6.9 3.3
Services 21.4 20.0 17.9 16.7
Retail/Personal 21.2 19.6 19.2 22.4
* Based on the previous round’s response.

Table 3: Sector-wise Expectations for Extended Period - Net Response
(per cent)
Sector Loan Demand Loan Terms and Conditions
Q4:2026-27 Q1:2027-28 Q4:2026-27 Q1:2027-28
All Sectors 50.0 43.3 15.0 15.0
Agriculture 36.7 25.0 11.7 11.7
Mining and Quarrying 8.6 8.6 0.0 0.0
Manufacturing 43.3 46.7 20.0 18.3
Infrastructure 40.0 35.0 10.0 8.3
Services 43.3 41.7 18.3 18.3
Retail/Personal 40.0 30.0 16.7 16.7

Note: Please see the attached excel file for detailed time series data.

1 The results of 36th round of the BLS with reference period as April-June 2026 were released on the RBI website on August 05, 2026. The survey results reflect the views of the respondents, which are not necessarily shared by the Reserve Bank.

2 The survey questionnaire is canvassed among major 30 SCBs, which together account for over 90 per cent of credit by SCBs in India.

3 Net Response (NR) is computed as the difference of percentage of banks reporting increase/optimism and those reporting decrease/pessimism in respective parameter. The weights of +1.0, 0.5, 0, -0.5 and -1.0 are assigned for computing NR from aggregate per cent responses on 5-point scale, i.e., substantial increase/ considerable easing, moderate increase/ somewhat easing, no change, moderate decrease/ somewhat tightening, substantial decrease/ considerable tightening for loan demand/loan terms and conditions parameters respectively. NR ranges between -100 to 100. Any value greater than zero indicates expansion/optimism and any value less than zero indicates contraction/pessimism. Increase in loan demand is considered optimism (Table 1), while for loan terms and conditions, a positive value of net response indicates easy terms and conditions (Table 2).