According to most lenders October 2009 was one of the best months in terms of the quantum of loan disbursed.
The acceleration in offtake of loans is primarily driven by secured lending in housing & auto loan sectors and unsecured lending (personal loans) is yet to pick up to its previous volumes.

The increase is attributed to rising salaries in India Inc & the pent up demand for homes & cars- most people had been deferring their heavy purchases till the dark clouds of slowdown had passed.

E.g. HDFC bank disbursed retail loans worth Rs 3000 Cr in Oct 09, whereas their previous best was Rs 2700 Cr in June 2008.

September 2009 saw the Car Loans market reaching a new high with Rs 3400 Cr worth of loan disbursals. This is almost 25% higher than the monthly average taken over last 4 months.

Axis Bank has slashed the car loan rates in Hyderabad, Bangalore & Chennai to 9% for all vehicles. It has also waived off the processing fees and this scheme is applicable upto the end of this month.

SBI had already started being aggressive in the Car loans market. In June 09, SBI had slashed its car loan rates to 8% for the first year and 10% for the next two years. For the remaining years, borrowers would be charged 25-75 basis points below the bank's PLR.
Axis Bank's rate in comparison are fixed for the complete tenure of the loan.

Similarly HDFC bank had reduced its rates by 50 basis points to 10.5-11% range.

Our country's second largest private sector lender ,HDFC Bank, has decided to slash interest rates on personal and commercial vehicles by up to 150 basis points.In addition, the bank will also cut interest rates on corporate loans and wholesale credit, a move that will benefit small and medium enterprises and large companies.