Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 6 (ANI): Retail lending by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) accelerated sharply in August, growing 22 per cent year-on-year compared with 13.6 per cent a year earlier, driven by stronger growth in housing and gold loans, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed on Tuesday.

Loans against gold jewellery remained one of the fastest-growing retail credit segments, rising 69.1 per cent year-on-year to about Rs 3.65 lakh crore in August, according to the accompanying RBI statement.

"Retail loans growth accelerated to 22.0 per cent (y-o-y) in August 2026 compared to 13.6 per cent a year ago," the RBI said in its release on Sectoral Deployment of Credit by NBFC - August 2026.

The acceleration in retail lending came as overall NBFC credit growth also strengthened. Total credit extended by NBFCs grew 15.8 per cent year-on-year in August, up from 10 per cent growth recorded a year ago, with outstanding credit reaching about Rs 60.64 lakh crore.

Within retail credit, housing loans grew 12.1 per cent from a year earlier, compared with 3.8 per cent growth in the corresponding period last year. Vehicle loan growth remained strong at 15.4 per cent, while consumer durable loans expanded 56.4 per cent, according to the RBI statement.

"Within retail loans, 'housing loans' and 'loans against gold jewellery' segments witnessed accelerated credit growth, while 'vehicle loans' maintained its robust growth with marginal uptick," the central bank said.

The data indicate that household-focused lending is growing faster than overall NBFC credit, with gold-backed borrowing continuing to expand at a particularly strong pace.

"Credit to agriculture and allied activities recorded a robust growth of 17.4 per cent (y-o-y) in August 2026 as against 5.1 per cent a year ago," RBI said.

Industry credit growth remained broadly stable at 8.4 per cent compared with 8.3 per cent a year ago. In contrast, lending to the services sector slowed to 16.2 per cent from 24 per cent.

"While credit to 'commercial real estate' marked buoyant expansion, credit growth in 'trade' and 'transport operators' segments witnessed deceleration," the RBI said.

The RBI said the sectoral credit data are based on a sample of NBFCs in the Upper and Middle Layers and housing finance companies, accounting for about 87 per cent of total credit covered by its reference data. (ANI)