Repeat gold borrowing rises among low-risk customers, repayment stress persists: CIBIL

More than half of low-risk gold loan borrowers took another gold loan within 12 months, even as certain borrower segments continued to show signs of repayment stress, according to data released by TransUnion CIBIL.Among borrowers with CIBIL Scores of 731 or above who availed gold loans between July 2023 and June 2025, 57% of those borrowing ₹2.5 lakh or less took another gold loan within a year. The proportion stood at 54% among borrowers with loans exceeding ₹2.5 lakh. Repeat borrowing included renewals and top-ups.“Lenders needed to assess borrowers’ overall financial obligations alongside the value of pledged gold,” said Bhavesh Jain, Managing Director and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL. He said repayment histories, repeat borrowing and changes in credit exposure across products were critical to responsible lending and portfolio management.The analysis covered borrowers with clean recent repayment records and no active liquidity-oriented credit products in the preceding six months.Signs of stress, however, remain. Among active gold loan borrowers with healthy credit profiles and no existing delinquencies as of December 2025, 7% experienced repayment delays of 30 days or more across their credit obligations over the following six months.Borrowers who had missed more than one payment in the preceding six months were three times as likely to become delinquent. Those with business-oriented loans alongside gold loans were twice as likely to face repayment stress.Nevertheless, overall portfolio quality improved, with the share of active borrowers having gold loan accounts overdue by at least 30 days falling from 2% in June 2025 to 1.4% in June 2026.India’s outstanding gold loan balances reached ₹22.5 lakh crore in August 2026, nearly tripling in three years. The active borrower base rose to 5.5 crore, with average outstanding debt of ₹4.1 lakh per borrower.Gold loan sanction values grew 12% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹8.2 lakh crore in the June 2026 quarter, despite a 15% decline in origination volumes. Loans above ₹2.5 lakh recorded 19% growth in volumes.Semi-urban and rural markets accounted for two-thirds of originations. Women contributed 40%, while Gen Z borrowers increased 19% YoY. Published - November 05, 2026 09:22 pm IST