Outstanding credit of non-banking finance companies and housing finance companies increased 15.8 percent year on year to Rs 60.64 lakh crore in August 2026, accelerating from 10 percent growth recorded a year earlier, according to the latest Reserve Bank of India data on sectoral deployment of credit by NBFCs.

Retail lending remained the primary driver of growth, with retail loans accounting for nearly 44 percent of total NBFC credit. Retail credit increased 22 percent year on year to Rs 26.48 lakh crore in August, significantly higher than the 13.6 percent growth recorded in August 2025.

Within the retail segment, loans against gold jewellery recorded the strongest expansion. Outstanding gold loans rose 69.1 percent year on year to Rs 3.65 lakh crore in August 2026, compared with 46.8 percent growth a year earlier. The sharp acceleration makes gold loans one of the fastest-growing components of NBFC retail credit.

Consumer durables loans also recorded strong growth, increasing 56.4 percent year on year to Rs 77,784 crore. Vehicle loans rose 15.4 percent to Rs 6.37 lakh crore, while housing loans increased 12.1 percent to Rs 8.62 lakh crore.

Credit growth was also supported by agriculture and services. Lending to agriculture and allied activities increased 17.4 percent year on year to Rs 80,109 crore, compared with 5.1 percent growth a year earlier. Services credit rose 16.2 percent to Rs 7.79 lakh crore, although the pace moderated from 24 percent growth recorded in August 2025.

Within the services segment, commercial real estate credit increased 21.8 percent to Rs 1.04 lakh crore, while credit to trade rose 15.6 percent to Rs 1.17 lakh crore. Credit to transport operators grew 10.7 percent to Rs 1.79 lakh crore.

Industrial credit remained comparatively subdued. Credit to industry increased 8.4 percent year on year to Rs 22.29 lakh crore in August 2026, broadly in line with the 8.3 percent growth recorded a year earlier. Infrastructure lending, which represents a significant portion of industrial credit for NBFCs, grew 7.2 percent to Rs 20.28 lakh crore. Within infrastructure, power-sector credit increased 8.3 percent to Rs 14.49 lakh crore.

The overall credit outstanding of NBFCs and HFCs increased from Rs 52.37 lakh crore in August 2025 to Rs 60.64 lakh crore in August 2026, while credit stood at Rs 57.77 lakh crore at the end of March 2026. The data covers NBFCs in the upper and middle layers along with HFCs and represents around 87 percent of total NBFC credit.

The latest figures indicate that retail lending continues to provide significant momentum to the NBFC sector, with particularly strong acceleration in gold-backed lending. The RBI has been publishing monthly sectoral credit data for NBFCs since earlier this year, with the latest figures being provisional and based on information reported by selected NBFCs and HFCs.