Structural shift in bank deposits sees decline in savings deposits share and increase in term deposits

Term deposits made up 61.6 % of scheduled commercial banks’ total deposits by the end of March 2026, up from 61.1 % a year earlier.

Over the past five years, the makeup of scheduled commercial banks’ total deposits has shifted structurally, with savings deposits falling and term deposits rising, according to RBI figures.

This trend follows a dip in savings‑deposit rates, which slipped from 2.70‑3.00 % in March 2022 to 2.50 % in March 2026, while term‑deposit rates for maturities longer than one year climbed from 5.00‑5.60 % to 6.00‑6.60 % over the same span.

Consequently, the share of savings deposits in SCBs’ deposit base slipped from 34.6 % in March 2022 to 28.7 % in March 2026. At the same time, term deposits—typically offering higher yields—grew from 55.2 % to 61.6 % of total deposits during that period.

By the close of March 2026, term deposits accounted for 61.6 % of SCBs’ overall deposits, compared with 61.1 % at the end of March 2025.

Growth Acceleration

At the same time, the combined proportion of savings and current‑account deposits in banks’ total deposits fell to 28.7 % (from 29.1 % at end‑March 2025) and 9.7 % (from 9.8 %), respectively.

During FY 2026, public‑sector banks supplied the bulk of new deposits, contributing 50.8 % of the increase, while private‑sector banks added 38.6 %, according to the RBI’s Annual Basic Statistical Return on Deposits with SCBs.

Year‑on‑year growth in SCB deposits quickened in FY 2026, reaching 11.5 % by end‑March 2026, up from 10.6 % a year earlier.

Household sector

Although the household sector’s share of total deposits eased somewhat recently, it stayed the biggest source, making up 59.3 % of all deposits at the end of March 2026.

Conversely, deposits held by the non‑financial sector rose to 18.5 % in March 2026 from 17.7 % a year earlier, and the financial corporations’ share climbed from 6.8 % to 7.8 % over the same interval.

Deposits by size

Within the overall term‑deposit pool, the ‘₹1 crore and above’ bracket represented 46.3 % of term deposits as of end‑March 2026, driven largely by the ‘₹5 crore and above’ segment, which accounted for 34.8 %. Meanwhile, term deposits of up to ₹5 lakhs comprised 17.8 % of the total.

The portion of term deposits with an original maturity of one to three years rose steadily to 69.8 % by March 2026, up from 50.4 % in March 2022, while the share of deposits maturing within one year fell to 8.8 % from 16.7 % over the same period.

Similarly, term deposits locked in for one‑to‑three years grew to 69.8 % of the total by March 2026, compared with 50.4 % in March 2022, whereas deposits with maturities of up to one year shrank to 8.8 % from 16.7 % during that timeframe.

Published on June 1, 2026