Mumbai, May 29 (IANS): The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) balance sheet expanded by a robust 20.6 per cent to Rs 91.97 lakh crore as of March 31, 2026, compared to Rs 76.25 lakh crore a year earlier, marking an absolute expansion of Rs 15.72 lakh crore during the year, according to the RBI’s annual report released on Friday. The increase marked a significant acceleration from the 8.2 per cent growth recorded in FY25, taking the size of the RBI’s balance sheet to 26.4 per cent of gross domestic product. The expansion was driven by high growth in domestic investments, gold holdings and foreign investments, with domestic investments rising 44.9 per cent during FY26, gold holdings increasing 63.8 per cent and foreign investments growing 7.9 per cent. Domestic assets accounted for 29.1 per cent of total assets as of March 31, 2026, compared with 25.7 per cent a year earlier, while foreign currency assets, gold holdings, loans and advances to financial institutions outside India accounted for the remaining 70.9 per cent, down from 74.3 per cent a year earlier, indicating that domestic assets increased at a faster pace than foreign assets during the year.
On the liabilities side, revaluation accounts rose 63.4 per cent, notes issued increased 11.8 per cent, deposits grew 11.6 per cent and other liabilities increased 21.1 per cent during FY26. The RBI’s balance sheet has expanded steadily in recent years, standing at Rs 63.45 lakh crore at the end of FY23, rising to Rs 70.47 lakh crore in FY24 and further to Rs 76.25 lakh crore in FY25 before reaching Rs 91.97 lakh crore in FY26. The RBI transferred Rs 1.09 lakh crore to the Contingency Fund during FY26 under its Economic Capital Framework, which allows the contingent risk buffer to remain within a range of 4.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent of the balance sheet, with no transfer made to the Asset Development Fund during the year. The RBI also declared a record dividend of around Rs 2.87 lakh crore to the Centre for FY26, which would help the government address challenges arising from the ongoing West Asia crisis.