Gold Loan Portfolio Doubles in Two Years
According to a recent report, India’s overall gold loan portfolio across the financial system has nearly doubled over the past two years, reaching ₹15.6 trillion by November 2025. The surge has been driven by rising gold prices, which encouraged lenders to increase their exposure to this relatively secure lending segment.
Gold-backed lending grew by 42% in the year ended November 2025, on top of a 39% increase recorded in the year ended November 2024. As a result, the gold loan book expanded from ₹7.9 trillion in November 2023 to almost double at ₹15.6 trillion.
A report by a credit information company stated that growing confidence in gold loans has also increased their share in the total retail loan portfolio. The share of gold loans rose from 8.1% a year earlier to 9.7% by the end of November 2025.
CRIF High Mark noted that rising gold prices and strong collateral value have supported portfolio growth. Higher gold prices have also increased borrowers’ loan eligibility. However, the number of active gold loans grew by only 10.3%, indicating higher average ticket sizes.
Loans above ₹2.5 lakh now account for nearly half of the total gold loan book, compared with 36.4% in March 2023. More than 56% of gold loans were taken by male borrowers, while female borrowers demonstrated better repayment behavior.
The report highlighted that rapid lending growth led to a situation where FY25 origination volumes and values were already surpassed within the first eight months of FY26.
Government-owned lenders dominate the segment with a 60% market share, while gold-loan-focused NBFCs hold 8.1% of the outstanding portfolio.
From an asset quality perspective, repayment performance has improved significantly. The report noted a decline in stressed portfolios across all overdue buckets in the year ended November 2025. Gold loans continue to show the lowest default levels among all retail loan categories.
Regionally, nearly three-fourths of the gold loan portfolio is concentrated in southern states, while the top ten states together account for over 90% of outstanding loans.
In terms of growth, Gujarat led with a 67% increase in gold loan portfolios during the year ended November 2025, followed by Karnataka and Maharashtra, each recording growth of over 50%.