Balance-sheet Growth of Public Sector Banks in India: A Longitudinal Analysis, 2015-16 To 2024-25

Abstract

This study examines the longitudinal growth of the consolidated balance sheet of public sector banks (PSBs) in India over the ten financial years from 2015-16 to 2024-25. Annual bank-group data were compiled from the Reserve Bank of India's Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India and analysed using the arithmetic mean, sample standard deviation, and compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The corrected series shows that total PSB liabilities/assets increased from Rs. 91,68,100 crore in 2015-16 to Rs. 1,71,41,751 crore in 2024-25, corresponding to a CAGR of 7.20%. Deposits increased at 7.37% per year, while loans and advances increased at 7.53%. Reserve and surplus recorded a CAGR of 9.15%, whereas capital recorded a CAGR of 16.38% from a comparatively small initial base. Investments increased at 7.38%, while borrowings increased at 4.59%. The findings demonstrate substantial nominal balance-sheet expansion, particularly in the later years of the study, but do not by themselves establish changes in profitability, efficiency, or asset quality. The analysis therefore interprets these indicators as measures of balance-sheet scale and financial structure rather than as comprehensive measures of banking performance. The results provide a corrected descriptive benchmark for examining the changing size and composition of Indian PSBs over a period marked by consolidation, recapitalisation, and shifts in credit and deposit growth.