Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) in India recorded an unprecedented surge in gold jewelry financing in May 2026. According to the newest sector credit data published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), gold loans grew at a staggering 69.9% year-on-year, making it the single fastest-growing credit category across the entire shadow banking landscape.
Total outstanding loans against gold jewelry stood at ₹3.29 lakh crore by the end of May, climbing dramatically from the ₹1.94 lakh crore reported during the same month the previous year.
Credit Growth Across Key Segments
While gold financing dominated the chart, the RBI’s monthly sectoral data showcased highly uneven performance across other key credit categories:
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Retail Lending Portfolio (Up 19.5%): Driven primarily by the massive expansion in gold loans alongside robust numbers in housing and vehicle financing. This is a noticeable jump from the 14.9% growth recorded in May 2025.
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Commercial Credit (Up 40.2%): Emerging as the second-fastest sector, outstanding corporate services and commercial infrastructure credit extended by NBFCs reached ₹1.19 lakh crore (up from ₹85,317 crore a year ago).
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Agricultural Credit (Up 17.9%): Lending for agricultural and allied activities experienced a significant turnaround, vastly eclipsing the modest 5.0% expansion seen last year.
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Industrial and Service Moderation: Credit growth to heavy industries and large infrastructure projects slowed down to 7.3% (from 10.0% last year). Similarly, overall services credit expansion moderated to 16.7% compared to 23.9% in the year-ago period.
The Underlying Drivers: Market analysts point to sustained elevated global gold prices and stricter regulatory curbs by the RBI on unsecured personal credit as twin factors driving borrowers toward secured, highly liquid options like gold loans.
