Women improve their share in both bank deposits as well as credit

By: Anshul Vipat

Increased participation in the labour force, higher financial independence, better credit awareness and improved access to economic opportunities have driven the growth of women depositors in India

In what can be seen a paradigm shift in financialisation of women in India, the share of women depositors in banks has seen a sharp increase in FY22. According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s, latest report on deposits with scheduled commercial banks (SCBs), as of March 2022, female depositors accounted for 19.8 per cent of total deposits. Their share in incremental bank deposits more than doubled from 15.2 per cent in FY 20-21 to 34.3 per cent in 2021-22, on a yearly basis.

The share of women depositors in private sector banks remained constant in FY22 as compared to previous year, while an 11 percent increase was seen in public sector banks. According to experts, increased participation in the labour force, higher financial independence, better credit awareness and improved access to economic opportunities have driven the growth of women depositors in India.

Overall, bank deposits fell year-on-year (y-o-y) to 10 per cent in March 2022 from 11.9 per cent a year ago. Although, current deposits saw a 10.9 percent increase, savings saw a 13.3 percent increase and term deposits increased by 7.9 per cent during financial year 2021-22. The total share of current account and savings account (CASA) deposits in total deposits stood at 44.8 per cent in March 2022 as compared to 41.7 per cent three years ago. These low-cost deposits accounted for 60.9% and 55.6% of incremental deposits during 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively.

Metropolitan branches of banks accounted for 51.5 per cent in incremental deposits during 2021-22 (59.6 per cent in 2020-21). In terms of sectors, household sector held the dominant share (62.6%) in total deposits. Out of these, one-third deposits belonged to women. This was followed by non-financial corporations, general government, rest of the world and financial corporations, respectively. Large size deposits (Rs 1 crore and above) have 40.0 per cent share in total term deposits, the central bank said.

States such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Gujarat together accounted for 63.3 percent of total deposits.