Gold loan portfolio nearly doubles in 2 years to ₹15.6 lakh crore amid rising prices: Report

Amid soaring gold prices, the gold loan portfolio nearly doubled to ₹15.6 lakh crore in November 2025, rising from ₹7.9 lakh crore in November 2023. 

Due to soaring gold prices, lenders eased loan eligibility norms, as gold emerged as a safer and stronger form of collateral.

Gold loans across the country rose by 42% year-on-year in the year to November 2025, following a 39% rise in the year to November 2024. The growth was led by rising gold prices, as lenders increased their exposure to the safer segment, a report by Crif High Mark said on Wednesday, January 28. 

The share of gold loans in the overall retail borrowing portfolio grew to 9.7% in November 2025, from 8.1% in November 2024, with increased comfort in lending against gold driven by high prices, the credit information company said.

Crif High Mark said the portfolios are growing, driven by rising gold prices and strong collateral, and explained that the surge in gold prices has lifted loan eligibility for borrowers.

Gold loans in India

Active gold loans in India grew by 10.3%, and the loans above ₹2.5 lakh constitute nearly half of the book as of November 2025, up from 36.4% in March 2023, Crif High Mark said.

Notably, 56% of gold loans are taken by male borrowers, despite better repayment behaviour shown by female borrowers. 

The fast-paced lending has led to a situation where the origination volumes and values of FY25 have surpassed those of the first eight months of FY26 itself, the company said.

Public sector lenders hold a dominant 60% market share in the business, while gold-loan focused NBFCs (non-banking finance companies) hold an 8.1% share of the portfolio outstanding.

There was also an improvement in repayments, and the portfolio in stress has reduced across all overdue buckets in the year to November 2025, the report said, pointing to improving asset quality in the gold loan portfolio.

The portfolio demonstrates ‘one of the lowest delinquency levels’ among all retail loan categories, it said.

From a regional distribution perspective, three-fourths of the portfolio is concentrated in the southern states, and the top-10 states have over 90% of the outstanding, the report said. 

Gujarat led the portfolio growth at 67% in the year to November 2025, while Karnataka and Maharashtra followed with over 50% growth, it said. However, stress levels were higher in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Odisha, which reported a greater proportion of unpaid loans.