Banks move to Mutual funds as loan applications dip

(posted under - Indian Economy, Mutual funds investing) - According to the latest RBI figures, the first week of April has seen a dip in outstanding loans. Total bank loans as on April 9 stood at Rs 32,41,255 crore, up Rs 1,167 crore over the previous fortnight’s levels. However, outstanding loans were marginally lower than the Rs 32,43,175-crore loans outstanding on end March 2010. The second half of March saw bank loans growing by over Rs 1,00,000 crore — a feat which banking sources say was achieved only by banks window dressing their books.

Banks have invested an additional Rs 50,016 crore during the fortnight ended April 9, taking their total MF exposure to Rs 1,05,519 crore. This is despite the central bank asking lenders to cut down exposure to mutual funds. Foreign exchange reserves were flat at $280 billion during the week-ended April 16, largely on account of revaluation of non-dollar assets.