RBI balance sheet swells 30% to Rs 53.35 lakh crore in 2019-20

The Reserve Bank of India’s total assets, or balance sheet size, grew 30 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 53.35 lakh crore in 2019-20 due to a rise in domestic and foreign investments, according to the annual report the central bank released on Tuesday. The figure stood at Rs 41.03 lakh crore last year. The central bank follows July-June fiscal period.

On the liability side, the increase was due to a 21.52 per cent rise in notes issued, 30.46 per cent rise in other liabilities and provisions and a 53.72 per cent jump in deposits.

Foreign and domestic assets of the banking department constituted 41 per cent as of June 30, 2020 against 41 per cent a year ago, while foreign assets of the issue department and gold coins (backing of note issue) constituted 49 per cent of total assets against 52 per cent as of June 30, 2019 .


Sharing its insights on 2020-21, RBI said that global economic activity is well below pre-Covid levels. During the first quarter of 2020, GDP contracted in the range of 1.2-13.6 per cent among advanced economies. On the other hand, growth varied between 4.5 per cent and (-) 6.8 per cent among emerging market economies.

“Early GDP releases and high-frequency indicators suggest that contractions have been severe in Q2, while for Q3 the near-term outlook remains clouded with available high-frequency indicators presenting a mixed picture,” RBI said.