Banks' profitability to moderate slightly in FY26: Ind-Ra

06 Aug 2025 Evaluate

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has said that banks' profitability is set to moderate slightly in the ongoing financial year (FY26) as lenders set aside higher sums of money for covering potential loan losses and a narrowing in net interest margins due to the rate cuts. It expects credit growth to climb up to 13 per cent in FY26, but added that higher tariffs, if they indeed come about, may impact the number.

The rating agency expects the return on assets for the banking system to come down to 1.33 per cent in FY26 from 1.38 per cent in FY25. It said stress in unsecured retail credit, especially among private banks, remains evident, particularly in personal loans, credit cards and microfinance. It noted that unsecured retail lending has slowed down following the RBI's November 2023 action and asset quality stress is elevated.

On the microfinance front, Ind-Ra expects a 10 per cent increase in assets under management for NBFC-MFIs and also hinted that issues plaguing the sector will ease as the fiscal year progresses. However, a bulk 60 per cent of the retail credit (housing and vehicle loans) remains stable. It has maintained its ratings and outlooks on all the verticals but for personal loans, where it has revised the outlook to neutral from deteriorating. On the loan growth front, it expects corporate lending to improve to about 10 per cent as demand revives during the remainder of FY26. For NBFCs, it expects a moderation in overall assets under management to 18 per cent in FY26 from 24 per cent in FY25 primarily on a slowdown in bank lending to such entities and also some conservativeness by them. 


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