NBFC credit grows 14.2% in May, led by nearly 70% jump in gold loans: RBI

Outstanding loans extended by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) against gold jewellery surged 69.9% year-on-year in May 2026, making it the fastest-growing lending segment, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday (July 7).

Outstanding gold loans stood at ₹3.29 lakh crore at the end of May, up from ₹1.94 lakh crore a year earlier.

Overall, NBFC credit grew 14.2% year-on-year in May 2026, accelerating from 11.4% in the same month last year, reflecting stronger lending across key segments.

Retail loans remained the biggest contributor to overall credit growth, expanding 19.5% year-on-year compared with 14.9% a year ago. Within the retail portfolio, housing loans, vehicle loans and loans against gold jewellery registered robust growth.

Credit to agriculture and allied activities also remained strong, rising 17.9% year-on-year in May, compared with 5% growth in the corresponding month last year.

Lending to the industrial sector, however, slowed to 7.3% from 10% a year ago, primarily due to weaker growth in credit to infrastructure, a key component of the segment.

Similarly, credit growth to the services sector moderated to 16.7% from 23.9% a year earlier, although lending to commercial real estate continued to record strong expansion.

Credit to the commercial sector grew 40.2% year-on-year to ₹1.19 lakh crore, making it the second-fastest growing category after loans against gold jewellery.

The RBI releases monthly sectoral deployment data to track how NBFCs and housing finance companies are extending credit across agriculture, industry, services and retail segments.