BankCreds Research · Data report (living dataset)

How Fast Are Gold Loans Growing in India? A Trend Report

Banks’ outstanding loans against gold jewellery in India stood at ₹5,59,468 crore on 31 August 2026, up 83.2% on a year earlier, according to RBI data compiled by BankCreds Research. Growth has been 50% or more in each of the last 24 months, since September 2024.

Published
9 October 2026
Last updated
25 October 2026
Data period
January 2019 – August 2026
Datasets
RBI v1.0 · 92 months + RBI v1.0 · 118 months

By BankCreds Research & Data Team · Reviewed by BankCreds Financial Experts · Fact-checked by BankCreds Content & SEO Team

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Executive summary

Every month RBI publishes how much banks have lent in each sector, including loans against gold jewellery. BankCreds Research collected every monthly figure from January 2019 to August 2026 from RBI’s own releases. Bank gold loans have grown very fast since late 2024 — faster than the gold price itself. Part of the jump is a change in how one bank classifies loans, and the figures cover banks only — NBFC gold lenders are not included.

Key findings

Each finding is self-contained and may be quoted with attribution to BankCreds Research. Link a single finding with its anchor (#finding-1, #finding-2 …).

  1. 1

    Banks’ outstanding loans against gold jewellery reached ₹5,59,468 crore on 31 August 2026, up 83.2% on a year earlier (RBI, Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit).

  2. 2

    Year-on-year growth has been 50% or more in each of the last 24 months, since September 2024; it averaged 113.5% in 2025 and 109.0% so far in 2026.

  3. 3

    Growth was much slower before: it averaged 12.1% in 2022, 20.2% in 2023 and 37.0% in 2024.

  4. 4

    Bank gold loans grew faster than the gold price in 67 of the 79 months since January 2020; in July 2026 they were up 88.1% on a year earlier while the gold price was up 46.1%.

  5. 5

    Since January 2025, growth in bank gold loans has averaged 113.2% against a 51.6% average rise in the gold price — more than higher gold prices alone would explain.

  6. 6

    Part of the rise is a change in classification: from May 2024 a bank moved some agricultural loans into this category, and RBI does not say how much.

  7. 7

    The fastest growth in the series was 132.0% (January 2021) and the slowest −2.9% (April 2022).

  8. 8

    The data cover banks in RBI’s sample (41 banks, about 95% of scheduled banks’ non-food credit); gold loans from NBFCs are not included.

Key statistics

Bank gold loans outstanding
₹5.59 lakh crore
31 August 2026
Growth on a year earlier
83.2%
RBI, August 2026
Months of 50%+ growth
24
since September 2024
Gold price, 12-month change
46.1%
July 2026
Bank gold loans vs the gold price: growth over a yearRBI’s published year-on-year growth in bank credit against gold jewellery, beside the 12-month change in RBI’s monthly gold price, January 2020 – July 2026. The sharp swings in 2020–21 reflect RBI’s new reporting format and bank-sample changes.
Year-on-year growth: bank gold loans vs gold price (%)In July 2026 bank gold loans were up 88.1% on a year earlier and the gold price 46.1%. -20%0%20%40%60%80%100%120%140%202120222023202420252026Bank gold loans (RBI y-o-y)Gold price (12-month change) Source: BankCreds analysis of RBI data · bankcreds.com/research
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What this data covers

The figures are banks’ outstanding loans against gold jewellery — the total still owed at the end of each period — from RBI’s monthly Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit. They cover the banks in RBI’s sample, not every bank, and they do not include NBFCs, which are large gold lenders. Growth is RBI’s own year-on-year figure, which compares like with like inside each release.

Bank gold loans outstanding, as first publishedOutstanding bank credit against gold jewellery in each month’s RBI release, ₹ lakh crore. RBI’s bank sample changed 5 times, HDFC Ltd merged into HDFC Bank in July 2023, a bank moved some agricultural loans into this item from the marked month, and RBI later revised many months — so levels across these breaks are not directly comparable.
Bank credit against gold jewellery, ₹ lakh crore (as first published)₹15,451 crore in January 2019; ₹5.59 lakh crore in August 2026. ₹0.0L cr₹1.0L cr₹2.0L cr₹3.0L cr₹4.0L cr₹5.0L cr₹6.0L cr20192020202120222023202420252026Reclassification (May 2024) Source: BankCreds analysis of RBI data · bankcreds.com/research
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What has pushed gold loans up

Three things raise the amount people borrow against gold. Higher gold prices let the same jewellery support a bigger loan. RBI’s 2025 rules raised the loan-to-value cap for small consumption loans to 85%. And RBI made unsecured consumer loans costlier for banks to hold from November 2023, which made secured gold lending more attractive to them. Since January 2025, bank gold loans grew 113.2% a year on average against 51.6% for the gold price. The rest came from more gold being pledged, more of its value being borrowed, or the reclassification from May 2024 — RBI’s data cannot separate these.

How to read the numbers

Use the growth rates, not the levels, to compare years. RBI widened its bank sample several times, included HDFC Ltd’s merger with HDFC Bank from July 2023, moved its reporting date to the month’s end from December 2025, and revises earlier months. Each change is listed below with its date. The monthly table shows each figure as it was first published.

Data tables

Bank gold loans by year

YearMonthsAverage y-o-y growth (RBI)Outstanding at year end
20201244.8%₹48,859 crore (December 2020)
20211269.1%₹70,871 crore (December 2021)
20221212.1%₹84,256 crore (December 2022)
20231220.2%₹1.02 lakh crore (December 2023)
20241237.0%₹1.73 lakh crore (December 2024)
202512113.5%₹3.83 lakh crore (December 2025)
2026 (so far)8109.0%₹5.59 lakh crore (August 2026)

Average of RBI’s published monthly year-on-year growth rates. Year-end levels are as first published and are affected by the sample and definition changes listed below.

Changes that affect comparisons

FromChangeWhat it means
January 2021Item introduced (revised SIBC reporting format)'Loans against gold jewellery' first appears as item 4.8 of Statement 1 in the release for January 2021 (published Feb 26, 2021). The December 2020 release (statement and the January/February 2021 RBI Bulletin tables hav…
December 2021Bank sample changeSample widened from 33 to 35 select SCBs (still ~90% of non-food credit).
December 2021Reporting-error adjustmentRBI adjusts the credit data for past reporting errors by select banks from December 2021 onwards; first flagged in the March 2022 release.
January 2022Bank sample changeSample widened to 39 select SCBs (~92%).
February 2022Bank sample changeSample widened to 40 select SCBs (~94%).
April 2022Bank sample changeSample 40 select SCBs, coverage now stated as ~93%.
July 2023Bank merger (HDFC Ltd with HDFC Bank)From the fortnight of July 28, 2023 data include the merger of a non-bank with a bank. RBI prints ex-merger figures in parentheses only for some aggregate rows (e.g. Bank credit, Personal Loans, Housing, Other Personal L…
October 2023Bank sample changeSample widened to 41 select SCBs (~95%); unchanged to the latest release.
May 2024Reclassification by a reporting bankA bank moved a category of agricultural loans into 'Loans against gold jewellery' from May 2024 (footnote added from the November 2024 release onward). The step-up from Apr 2024 (101,552) to May 2024 (116,777) and the tr…
December 2025Reporting-date definitionFrom Dec 31, 2025 the reference date is the last day of the month instead of the last reporting Friday/fortnight. RBI y-o-y rates from December 2025 compare the end-of-month figure with the old-definition last reporting …
Bank credit against gold jewellery — all 92 months (latest first)
MonthReporting dateOutstanding (₹ crore)y-o-y growth (RBI)Banks in sample
August 202631 Aug 20265,59,46883.2%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
July 202631 Jul 20265,52,26188.1%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
June 202630 Jun 20265,35,54493.8%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
May 202631 May 20265,14,281105.5%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
April 202630 Apr 20264,88,761121.2%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
March 202631 Mar 20264,60,313123.1%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
February 202628 Feb 20264,28,578127.9%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
January 202631 Jan 20264,00,517128.8%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
December 202531 Dec 20253,82,706127.6%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
November 202528 Nov 20253,58,645125.3%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
October 202531 Oct 20253,37,580128.5%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
September 202519 Sept 20253,16,042114.9%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
August 202522 Aug 20253,05,814117.8%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
July 202525 Jul 20252,94,166122.0%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
June 202527 Jun 20252,77,025123.8%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
May 202530 May 20252,51,369115.3%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
April 202518 Apr 20252,23,034119.6%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
March 202521 Mar 20252,08,735103.5%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
February 202521 Feb 20251,91,19887.4%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
January 202524 Jan 20251,78,86176.9%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
December 202427 Dec 20241,72,58171.3%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
November 202429 Nov 20241,64,55666.1%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
October 202418 Oct 20241,54,28256.2%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
September 202420 Sept 20241,47,08151.0%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
August 202423 Aug 20241,40,39140.9%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
July 202426 Jul 20241,32,53639.0%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
June 202428 Jun 20241,23,77630.5%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
May 202431 May 20241,16,77729.7%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
April 202419 Apr 20241,01,55212.0%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
March 202422 Mar 20241,02,65814.9%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
February 202423 Feb 20241,02,45815.4%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
January 202426 Jan 20241,01,93417.4%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
December 202329 Dec 20231,01,92518.6%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
November 202317 Nov 20231,00,27918.5%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
October 202320 Oct 20231,00,00417.3%41 select SCBs, ~95% of non-food credit
September 202322 Sept 202397,66020.1%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
August 202325 Aug 202396,26522.1%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
July 202328 Jul 202395,74623.1%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
June 202330 Jun 202395,34726.0%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
May 202319 May 202390,69722.1%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
April 202321 Apr 202389,66520.4%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
March 202324 Mar 202388,42819.6%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
February 202324 Feb 202387,82220.0%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
January 202327 Jan 202385,92814.9%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
December 202230 Dec 202284,25611.2%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
November 202218 Nov 202283,75517.7%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
October 202221 Oct 202283,62015.5%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
September 202223 Sept 202280,61711.8%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
August 202226 Aug 202278,1048.2%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
July 202229 Jul 202277,3255.6%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
June 202217 Jun 202275,0240.8%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
May 202220 May 202273,752-2.9%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
April 202222 Apr 202274,281-2.9%40 select SCBs, ~93% of non-food credit
March 202225 Mar 202273,74321.1%40 select SCBs, ~94% of non-food credit
February 202225 Feb 202271,40826.2%40 select SCBs, ~94% of non-food credit
January 202228 Jan 202269,52132.9%39 select SCBs, ~92% of non-food credit
December 202131 Dec 202170,87145.1%35 select SCBs, ~90% of non-food credit
November 202119 Nov 202165,63042.0%33 select SCBs, ~90% of non-food credit
October 202122 Oct 202165,36148.9%33 select SCBs, ~90% of non-food credit
September 202124 Sept 202163,77059.1%33 select SCBs, ~90% of non-food credit
August 202127 Aug 202162,92666.2%33 select SCBs, ~90% of non-food credit
July 202130 Jul 202162,41277.4%33 select SCBs, ~90% of non-food credit
June 202118 Jun 202162,22181.6%33 select SCBs, ~90% of non-food credit
May 202121 May 202162,10133.8%33 select SCBs, ~90% of non-food credit
April 202123 Apr 202162,23885.9%33 select SCBs, ~90% of non-food credit
March 202126 Mar 202160,46481.6%33 select SCBs, ~90% of non-food credit
February 202126 Feb 202156,26375.9%33 select SCBs, ~90% of non-food credit
January 202129 Jan 202143,141132.0%33 select SCBs, ~90% of non-food credit
December 20201 Jan 202148,85966.4%35 select SCBs, ~90%
November 202020 Nov 202046,22156.6%33 select SCBs, ~90%
October 202023 Oct 202043,90754.2%33 select SCBs, ~90%
September 202025 Sept 202040,08642.3%33 select SCBs, ~90%
August 202028 Aug 202037,86042.6%33 select SCBs, ~90%
July 202031 Jul 202035,18934.7%33 select SCBs, ~90%
June 202019 Jun 202034,26734.9%33 select SCBs, ~90%
May 202022 May 202046,41586.3%33 select SCBs, ~90%
April 202024 Apr 202033,47635.3%33 select SCBs, ~90%
March 202027 Mar 202033,30333.9%33 select SCBs, ~90%
February 202028 Feb 202031,99329.8%33 select SCBs, ~90%
January 202031 Jan 202018,59620.4%33 select SCBs, ~90%
December 20193 Jan 202029,355—35 select SCBs, ~90%
November 201922 Nov 201929,514—33 select SCBs, ~90%
October 201925 Oct 201928,478—33 select SCBs, ~90%
September 201927 Sept 201928,163—33 select SCBs, ~90%
August 201930 Aug 201926,542—33 select SCBs, ~90%
July 201919 Jul 201926,130—33 select SCBs, ~90%
June 201921 Jun 201925,405—33 select SCBs, ~90%
May 201924 May 201924,920—33 select SCBs, ~90%
April 201926 Apr 201924,747—33 select SCBs, ~90%
March 201929 Mar 201924,866—33 select SCBs, ~90%
February 201915 Feb 201924,645—33 select SCBs, ~90%
January 201918 Jan 201915,451—33 select SCBs, ~90%

Each month as first published in that month’s RBI release (2019–2020 from comparison columns in 2021–22 releases). RBI publishes no year-on-year figure for 2019.

Methodology

Data. “Loans against gold jewellery” (Personal Loans) from RBI’s monthly Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit releases and data statements, January 2019 to August 2026 (dataset version 1.0), each month as first published, cross-checked against the same table in the RBI Bulletin; 2019–2020 from the comparison columns of 2021–22 releases. RBI’s monthly gold price for the comparison (dataset version 1.0). Method. Year-on-year growth is RBI’s published figure, never recomputed. The gold price’s 12-month change compares the same month a year apart. Nothing is filled in.

Full standards: BankCreds research methodology.

Data sources

  • Reserve Bank of India — Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit, monthly press releases and data statements (Statement 1), January 2021 – latest.
  • Reserve Bank of India — RBI Bulletin, Current Statistics, Table 15: Deployment of Gross Bank Credit by Major Sectors.
  • Reserve Bank of India — monthly average price of standard gold (Mumbai); regulatory measures on consumer credit (November 2023); Directions on lending against gold and silver collateral (June 2025).

Limitations

  • Banks only: NBFC gold loans are not in this RBI series.
  • Levels are not comparable across RBI’s bank-sample changes, the HDFC merger and the 2024 reclassification; use growth rates.
  • RBI revises earlier months; the figures here are as first published.
  • From December 2025 RBI compares the month’s end with a fortnightly date a year earlier.

Download the report

The full report as a PDF — findings, charts, data tables, methodology and sources — updated 25 October 2026.

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Frequently asked questions

How big is the gold loan market in India?
Banks’ outstanding loans against gold jewellery were ₹5,59,468 crore on 31 August 2026, according to RBI. NBFC gold loans are extra and not included in this figure.
How fast are gold loans growing?
Bank gold loans were up 83.2% on a year earlier in August 2026, and growth has been 50% or more for 24 months in a row.
Why are gold loans growing so fast?
Higher gold prices, RBI’s higher loan-to-value cap for small loans and costlier unsecured lending have all pushed banks and borrowers towards gold loans. Part of the rise since May 2024 is also a change in how one bank classifies loans.

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You may quote the findings and reuse the charts under CC BY 4.0. Please credit BankCreds Research and link to this page. More options: Use our data.

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Version history. Report v1.0 (2026-10-09): First publication: RBI data January 2019 – August 2026. · RBI dataset v1.0 (2026-10-09): First release: 92 months 2019-01 → 2026-08. · RBI dataset v1.0 (2026-10-08): First release: 118 months, 2016-10 to 2026-07.

This research describes historical data. It is not investment, borrowing or tax advice, does not forecast prices and does not guarantee any outcome. See our editorial policy, fact-checking policy and corrections policy.

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