As per RBI data, bank deposits stood at Rs 256.9 lakh crore as of May 15, 2026, registering a year-on-year growth of 12.2% – well above the 10% growth recorded in the corresponding period last year – with time deposits leading the charge, rising 12.3% to Rs 225.2 lakh crore and accounting for 87.7% of total deposits.
The acceleration in time deposit growth from 8.9% to 12.3% underscores the flight to fixed returns at a time when equity markets have struggled to deliver consistent gains.
“The money that was flowing out of bank deposits is slowly starting to come back,” said Vinay Tonse, MD, Yes Bank. “There are increasing inquiries from customers asking whether it is time to exit equities and come back to deposits, whether it is time to exit mutual funds and move back. That reversal in trend has started showing up. Markets have not been doing well, and that is perhaps driving people back towards the safety of bank deposits.”
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Demand deposits, however, grew at a slower pace of 11.4% year-on-year, moderating from 18.1% in the corresponding period last year – reflecting normalisation in low-cost deposit growth and a clear shift in customer preference toward term deposits as interest rate expectations stabilise.
The trend has a structural dimension that goes beyond market cycles. “This is what I call the ‘corporatisation’ of retail deposits – as money moves into equity markets and other alternative assets, CASA comes under pressure and the share of high-ticket deposits goes up,” said Suresh Ganapathy, head of financial services research at Macquarie Capital. “The share of Rs 1 crore and above in term deposits has increased by a whopping 700 basis points over the last seven years.”
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The numbers bear this out. According to Macquarie’s analysis, the share of deposits of Rs 1 crore and above has risen steadily from 39% in March 2019 to 46% in March 2026 – nearly half of all bank deposits now concentrated in this segment alone. Small depositors with balances below Rs 1 lakh have seen their share shrink from 7% to just 3% over the same period, while the Rs 1 lakh to Rs 15 lakh bracket has declined from 38% to 33%.