PSB bad loans fall to 1.9%; ECLGS keeps credit flowing to trade, food and textiles

The government said public-sector banks posted nearly Rs 2 lakh crore in cumulative profit last financial year as gross NPAs fell from 7.3% to 1.9% over five years. ECLGS 5.0 has issued Rs 1.9 lakh crore in guarantees, supporting liquidity for retail-linked businesses.

— Source publishedWed, 29 Jul, 2026, 07:04 IST·First seen Wed, 29 Jul, 2026, 07:20 IST·Source Times of India · Business

What happened

Government of India · Government said public-sector banks’ bad loans have fallen sharply and profits rose. ECLGS 5.0 is supporting business credit, with

Key facts

  • Public sector banks reported cumulative profit of nearly Rs 2 lakh crore in the last financial year
  • PSB cumulative profit was Rs 67,000 crore in 2021-22
  • Gross NPAs fell from 7.3% of advances to 1.9% over five years
  • ECLGS 5.0 supports credit flow of up to Rs 2.55 lakh crore
  • Guarantees worth Rs 1.9 lakh crore have been issued
  • Civil aviation is eligible for up to Rs 5,000 crore
  • Eight civil-aviation guarantees worth Rs 163 crore have been issued

Why this matters

Easier guarantee-backed credit can expand the pool of financially viable MSME suppliers, franchisees and acquisition targets across retail-linked trade, food and textile ecosystems.

What to watch

  • PSB MSME loan growth, sanction-to-disbursal rates and average lending spreads.
  • ECLGS 5.0 utilization, sectoral allocation and any extension or revision of guarantee terms.
  • Retail sales growth, festive inventory build, wholesale trade volumes and GST collections.
  • Textile export orders, cotton/yarn price volatility and food commodity inflation.
  • MSME overdue trends, restructuring requests and early-warning delinquency rates after loan moratorium or guarantee periods.
  • Bank credit-deposit ratios and liquidity conditions, which will determine whether easier credit persists.
  • Expand bank and NBFC outreach to MSME vendors, franchisees and regional distributors before peak inventory cycles.
  • Offer supply-chain financing, invoice discounting and purchase-order-linked credit rather than broad unsecured merchant loans.
  • Target food-processing and textile clusters with bundled lending, payments, insurance and logistics solutions.
  • Monitor whether competitors use cheaper credit to increase discounting, private-label production or store expansion.
  • Strengthen borrower underwriting around cash conversion, inventory turns and supplier concentration, not only headline NPA trends.