New Delhi, Aug 8: Gold-backed lending by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) continued to grow at nearly 70 per cent year-on-year in June 2026, extending the sharp expansion seen in the previous month, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Outstanding NBFC loans against gold jewellery rose 69.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3.41 lakh crore at the end of June 2026, after recording 69.9 per cent growth in May.

The latest numbers indicate that the strong growth in gold-backed lending has continued into June, with loans against gold jewellery growing significantly faster than the overall retail loan portfolio of NBFCs.

Retail loans grew 20.3 per cent year-on-year in June 2026, accelerating from 14.3 per cent growth recorded a year earlier.

"Within retail loans, 'housing', 'vehicle' and 'loans against gold jewellery' segments displayed robust credit growth," the RBI said in its sectoral deployment of credit release.

According to the accompanying RBI data, outstanding retail loans increased to around Rs 25.62 lakh crore in June 2026 from Rs 21.29 lakh crore a year earlier.

Within retail lending, housing loans grew 11.4 per cent year-on-year to around Rs 8.44 lakh crore, while vehicle loans increased 15.2 per cent to around Rs 6.24 lakh crore. Consumer durable loans recorded a sharper 46.8 per cent rise to Rs 72,201 crore.

The continued expansion in gold-backed lending comes as the RBI has strengthened the regulatory framework governing loans against gold and silver collateral.

The central bank had issued the Reserve Bank of India (Lending Against Gold and Silver Collateral) Directions, 2025 in June last year, laying down a harmonised regulatory framework for such loans across regulated entities, including NBFCs.

The directions followed supervisory concerns flagged by the central bank in September 2024. RBI had identified deficiencies in gold-loan practices, including shortcomings in the use of third parties for sourcing and appraisal of loans, inadequate due diligence, weaknesses in monitoring loan-to-value ratios and lack of transparency during auctions of gold jewellery in cases of default. RBI had also asked regulated entities to closely monitor their gold-loan portfolios in view of significant growth seen at some lenders.

However, the growth was uneven across sectors. Credit to industry grew 6.7 per cent year-on-year, slowing from 10.3 per cent in June 2025. The RBI said the moderation was "primarily driven by subdued growth in infrastructure, a major constituent of the segment."

Services sector credit growth also moderated to 17.6 per cent from 22.4 per cent a year earlier. Commercial real estate recorded strong expansion, while growth in credit to trade and transport operators moderated.

Agriculture and allied activities, on the other hand, recorded credit growth of 17.9 per cent in June, sharply higher than 5.1 per cent a year earlier.

The RBI said the provisional sectoral credit data are based on a sample of NBFCs in the Upper and Middle Layers and housing finance companies, which together account for about 87 per cent of total credit covered by the central bank's reference data. (ANI)