Commercial realty, gold loans propelled NBFC credit growth to 14.2% in May | Finance News

Loans against gold jewellery and commercial real estate (CRE) emerged as the fastest-growing segments in non-banking financial companies’ (NBFCs’) loan books in May, as overall credit growth accelerated to 14.2 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), driven by robust retail lending and higher credit to agriculture, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed on Tuesday.

Outstanding credit by major NBFCs and housing finance companies (HFCs) stood at ₹58.61 trillion at the end of May, compared with ₹51.32 trillion a year earlier. The growth of 14.2 per cent was higher than the 11.4 per cent recorded in May 2025.

Among individual loan categories, loans against gold jewellery registered the sharpest increase, rising 69.9 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹3.30 trillion from ₹1.94 trillion a year earlier.

Consumer durable loans followed with a 42 per cent increase to ₹68,814 crore, while credit to commercial real estate climbed 40.2 per cent to ₹1.20 trillion, the strongest growth within the services segment.

Retail loans continued to anchor NBFC credit growth, rising 19.5 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹25.20 trillion, and accounting for nearly 43 per cent of the sector’s outstanding loan book. The pace of growth accelerated from 14.9 per cent a year earlier.

Within retail lending, housing loans, including those extended by HFCs, grew 10.9 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹8.35 trillion, more than double the 5.1 per cent growth recorded in May 2025.

Vehicle loans increased 14.8 per cent to ₹6.18 trillion, marginally slower than the 16.3 per cent growth recorded a year earlier.

Credit to agriculture and allied activities also accelerated sharply, rising 17.9 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹80,325 crore, compared with 5 per cent growth in the corresponding month last year.

In contrast, credit growth to industry slowed to 7.3 per cent from 10 per cent in May 2025, largely reflecting weaker growth in infrastructure lending. Infrastructure credit, which accounts for over 90 per cent of industrial loans in the NBFC sector, grew 5.8 per cent Y-o-Y, down from 9.3 per cent a year earlier. Lending to the power sector, the largest component within infrastructure, also moderated to 5.8 per cent from 13 per cent.

Credit to the services sector grew 16.7 per cent Y-o-Y, slower than the 23.9 per cent growth recorded a year ago. While commercial real estate continued to post strong growth, credit to trade moderated to 16.7 per cent from 27.8 per cent, and lending to transport operators slowed to 9 per cent from 11.7 per cent.

Other loans, which include lending by NBFCs outside the four broad sectors, and non-housing loans by HFCs rebounded to record 17.9 per cent Y-o-Y growth after contracting 18.7 per cent in May 2025.