Now Reading: Bank deposits grow 5 times faster than accounts, report shows
-
01
Bank deposits grow 5 times faster than accounts, report shows
Individual bank deposits grew nearly five times faster than the number of bank accounts in FY26, a sign that household savings are deepening within the banking system rather than relying on new…
Individual bank deposits grew nearly five times faster than the number of bank accounts in FY26, a sign that household savings are deepening within the banking system rather than relying on new account openings, according to a JM Financial report.
Individual deposits rose 9.7% year-on-year to Rs 134.8 trillion, while individual bank accounts increased just 1.8% to 2.6 billion. The average deposit per account reached Rs 51,494, up 7.7% from the previous year. Women are driving this deepening, with deposits growing at a 13.4% compound annual rate between FY19 and FY26, compared with 7.5% for men.
Financialisation also expanded beyond bank deposits: resident demat accounts reached 225 million in FY26, mutual fund folios rose to 274 million, and annual SIP contributions hit Rs 3.5 trillion. The report noted India has significant headroom, with demat penetration at 13.1% of the population and mutual fund AUM at 19.6% of GDP, well below China, Japan, the UK and the US.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The Reserve Bank of India’s Financial Stability Report for 2024 observed that household financial savings are shifting from physical assets like gold and real estate toward bank deposits and capital markets, a pattern the latest JM Financial data corroborates. With the average deposit per account now above Rs 51,000, banks are gaining a more stable liability base, which could improve their net interest margins. The stark gender gap in deposit growth rates suggests existing government schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, which has over 55 crore beneficiaries, may be concentrating balances among women rather than driving new account openings. For policymakers, the next indicator to track is whether the moderation in demat account growth from 26.7% to 17.6% signals market maturity or the start of retail fatigue. The RBI’s next quarterly statistics on bank deposits, due in April, will show if this deepening trend holds in the current fiscal year.
Source: bfsi.economictimes.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
