Department of Financial Services DFS Secretary Sanjay Lohiya on Tuesday urged Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to sustain good financial performance and further strengthen credit flow to the last mile.

The net profit of RRBs increased to an all-time high of Rs 10,176 crore in 2025-26 against Rs 6,820 crore in FY25, a jump of 49 per cent.

Both gross non-performing assets (GNPA) and net non-performing assets have reached all-time lows of 5.3 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively, the finance ministry said in a statement.

Reviewing the financial performance here, Lohiya appreciated the commendable performance of all RRBs during 2025-26.

At present, 28 RRBs are operating through 22,273 branches across 26 states and 3 Union Territories, covering about 700 districts.

The total business of all 28 RRBs has crossed Rs 13.5 lakh crore, surpassing the business level of a few individual public sector banks (PSBs) in FY26.

RRBs also continue to achieve all targets and sub-targets prescribed under priority sector lending, reflecting their strong commitment to serving marginalised and underserved segments of society, it said, adding that Regional Rural Banks are also playing a vital role in advancing financial inclusion, having opened over 54.98 lakh new Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts during 2025-26.

More importantly, it said, RRBs have been recording an increasing trend in their credit-deposit ratio, which reached an all-time high of 75.2 per cent in 2025-26.

Addressing the chairpersons of RRBs, the secretary called upon sponsor banks to handhold the rural lenders in their growth journey, particularly by strengthening their information technology infrastructure.

RRBs must accelerate the adoption of modern banking technology and the digital delivery of financial services to improve operational efficiency and customer experience while expanding access to banking services in rural and far-flung areas and ensuring that the benefits of digital banking reach every section of society, including the youth of the country, he said.

He also urged RRB chairpersons to take personal initiative to boost credit flow to sectors specific to their respective areas of jurisdiction and, wherever possible, introduce new and innovative avenues of lending.

The secretary underscored the need for RRBs to further improve their performance and deepen their role in expanding access to formal banking services in rural and underserved areas.

According to the statement, the meeting was attended by the Chairman, NABARD, chairpersons of all 28 RRBs, officials from the Department of Financial Services, Sponsor Banks, the Reserve Bank of India and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).