NBFC credit growth rises to 15.8% in August, retail loans remain key driver

Non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), including housing finance companies (HFCs), recorded a 15.8 percent year-on-year increase in outstanding credit to Rs 60.64 lakh crore in August 2026, accelerating from 10 percent a year ago, with retail lending continuing to drive growth. Retail loans, which account for nearly 44 percent of the NBFC sector's overall credit, grew 22 percent year-on-year to Rs 26.48 lakh crore in August, compared with 13.6 percent growth a year ago, according to the Reserve Bank of India's latest data on sectoral deployment of credit by NBFCs released on Tuesday. The data covers NBFCs in the upper and middle layers and HFCs, accounting for about 87 percent of total NBFC credit. Within retail lending, loans against gold jewellery recorded the sharpest growth, rising 69.1 percent year-on-year to Rs 3.65 lakh crore in August. This was significantly higher than the 46.8 percent growth recorded a year earlier. Consumer durables loans also grew sharply, rising 56.4 percent to Rs 77,784 crore. Vehicle loans increased 15.4 percent to Rs 6.37 lakh crore, while housing loans grew 12.1 percent to Rs 8.62 lakh crore. Agriculture, services also support growth Credit to agriculture and allied activities grew 17.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 80,109 crore in August, up from 5.1 percent growth a year ago. Services credit rose 16.2 percent to Rs 7.79 lakh crore, compared with 24 percent growth a year earlier. Within services, commercial real estate credit recorded strong growth of 21.8 percent to Rs 1.04 lakh crore, while credit to trade grew 15.6 percent to Rs 1.17 lakh crore. Transport operators saw credit growth of 10.7 percent to Rs 1.79 lakh crore. Credit to industry, however, grew at a slower pace of 8.4 percent to Rs 22.29 lakh crore in August, compared with 8.3 percent a year ago. Infrastructure, which accounts for a large part of NBFCs' industrial lending, grew 7.2 percent to Rs 20.28 lakh crore. Within infrastructure, power-sector credit rose 8.3 percent to Rs 14.49 lakh crore. Gold loans see strong acceleration The sharp increase in gold loans stands out within the retail portfolio. Outstanding loans against gold jewellery rose from Rs 2.16 lakh crore in August 2025 to Rs 3.65 lakh crore in August 2026. Credit growth in the category has accelerated even as the overall retail portfolio has expanded at a faster pace than a year earlier. Retail loans grew 13.6 percent in August 2025, compared with 22 percent in August 2026. The RBI began publishing monthly sectoral credit data for NBFCs earlier this year. The latest data are provisional and are based on information reported by the selected NBFCs and HFCs. The sector's overall credit outstanding stood at Rs 60.64 lakh crore at the end of August, compared with Rs 52.37 lakh crore a year earlier and Rs 57.77 lakh crore at the end of March 2026.