Total corporate bond issuance fell 6% in 9MFY26 due to rising rates and a shift to bank credit: RBI Bulletin

According to RBI’s ‘State of the Economy’ report, corporate bond issuance rose to ₹74,000 crore in December 2025 from ₹59,000 crore in November 2025

Corporate bond issuance has increased from ₹59,000 crore in November 2025 to ₹74,000 crore in December 2025, according to RBI’s ‘State of the Economy’ report.

Corporate bond yields hardened across maturities and rating spectrum, with spreads relative to government bonds of corresponding maturity generally widening.

For example, in the case of one- and three-year AAA-rated corporate bonds, spreads over government bonds of corresponding maturity increased to 181 basis points (bps) in the period from January 16, 2026 to February 16, 2026 (from 151 basis points in the period from December 16, 2025 to January 14, 2026) and 91 basis points (80 basis points).

Growth of bank credits and deposits

Credit and deposit growth of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) continued to grow at double digits this month, with credit growth exceeding deposit growth, the bulletin showed.

SCBs’ credit growth increased marginally to 14.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) on January 31, 2026, from 14.5 percent (YoY) on December 31, 2025. SCBs’ deposit growth declined marginally to 12.5 percent (YoY) against 12.7 percent (YoY) in the same period last year.

Overall, non-food bank credit growth (yoy) showed strengthening across all key sectors in December 2025.

Agricultural and industrial credit growth rose to double digits. Within industries, credit to both micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and large industries showed higher growth. Lending to the services sector grew on the back of a surge in bank lending to NBFCs, along with robust growth in sectors such as trade and commercial real estate. The housing, gold and auto loan segments drove the growth in personal loans.

Flow of financial resources

So far, the total flow of financial resources to the commercial sector in FY26 (till January 31, 2026) has increased to ₹34.5 lakh crore from ₹25.5 lakh crore a year ago. Non-banking sources – corporate bond issuance and foreign direct investment in India – have seen a marked increase so far.

As of January 31, 2026, total outstanding credit to the commercial sector increased by 14.7 percent, with non-bank sources recording a growth of 15.1 percent.

Published on February 20, 2026