The new liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) norms that took effect in April have helped banks improve their ratio as well as freed up liquidity to support credit growth at a time when deposit growth is lagging. Under the revised norms, deposits from non-financial entities such as trusts (educational, charitable and religious), partnerships and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) now carry a lower run-off factor of 40%, compared with 100% earlier. The run-off factor indicates the likelihood of deposits being withdrawn from a bank. A higher run-off factor requires banks to hold more high-quality liquid assets (HQLA), mainly government securities, that can be quickly liquidated during periods of financial stress. The lower requirement has allowed banks to deploy some of the freed-up funds for credit growth.