Srilanka, May 15 -- The licensed commercial banks have accelerated their pace of credit to the private sector in recent times, as the borrowing rates stay low while the economy picks up steam, generating demand for fresh credit from individuals and businesses.

The latest data showed that the total outstanding credit of the commercial banks increased by a whopping Rs.173.2 billion in March, up sharply from Rs.106.0 billion in February, setting off a robust growth in private sector credit for the year.

The March expansion in private sector credit brought the total credit extended in the first three months of the year to Rs.274.6 billion.

The March extension of credit translated into a robust 14.0 percent growth in the private sector fro...