India’s retail lending landscape has entered what can best be described as a “Goldilocks moment”, a rare phase where high growth is accompanied by improving asset quality according to the latest Disha - Equifax Retail Insights (Data as of December 2025) released by Equifax India, one of India’s leading credit information and analytics companies. Fresh disbursements grew by a robust 40% year-on-year, while overall Assets Under Management (AUM) expanded by nearly 13%, marking one of the strongest growth phases in recent years.
Crucially, this acceleration has not come at the cost of credit quality. Slippages across key products have moderated. Personal Loan slippages declined to 0.65% in December 2025 from 0.86% a year earlier, while Home Loan slippages improved to 0.15% from 0.16%. Net 90+ delinquency trends across most retail products have stabilized or improved, reflecting tighter underwriting, aggressive recoveries, and a decisive pivot toward secured lending.
Commenting on the findings, Aditya B. Chatterjee, Managing Director at Equifax India said: "India's retail credit market is witnessing a rare alignment of accelerated growth and improving asset quality. The strong pivot toward secured assets, particularly Gold Loans reflects a deliberate industry shift toward resilience and capital preservation. While the environment remains robust, lenders must stay vigilant on leverage trends and early-stage stress to ensure sustainable long-term growth.”
Importantly, growth has been accompanied by declining slippages. Personal Loan slippages reduced to 0.65% (from 0.86%), while Home Loan slippages moderated to 0.15% (from 0.16%). Net 90+ delinquency trends have stabilized across most products, indicating tighter underwriting and stronger recoveries.
Gold Loans have emerged as the undisputed growth engine. Disbursements grew 94% YoY, reaching ₹816 thousand crore in OND’25, displacing both Personal and Home Loans in the origination mix. NBFCs recorded a staggering 189% YoY growth in Gold Loans, while PSBs retained the largest market share at 46%. The fastest expansion was seen in high-value loans above ₹2 lakh, pointing to a structural shift toward higher-ticket secured credit. The surge significantly outpaced gold price inflation, underscoring clear product substitution dynamics.
The Personal Loan segment rebounded strongly, with disbursements rising ~34% YoY, returning to pre-slowdown momentum. PSBs led the growth at 42% YoY, nearly double that of Private Banks. At the same time, lenders executed a visible “flight to quality,” with the >₹10 lakh segment’s share rising to 37% over two years. High-ticket borrowers continue to show superior resilience, with PSU and Private Banks maintaining industry-leading Net 90+ delinquency at 0.4% and 0.6% respectively in this segment.
Portfolio quality remains robust, with over 85% of live AUM concentrated in Prime and Super Prime borrowers (score >700). While NBFCs have aggressively pivoted toward secured lending, nearly tripling Gold Loan disbursements to ₹253 thousand crore. The report flags early signs of leverage build-up and score deterioration among rapidly expanding segments, warranting closer monitoring.
Credit Cards remained the only product to witness volume contraction, although asset quality improved, with industry Net 90+ delinquency declining to 1.56% from 1.93% year-on-year.
Overall, the report highlights a structurally healthier lending ecosystem, powered by secured credit growth, disciplined underwriting, and stronger recoveries while cautioning lenders to stay vigilant against potential leverage build-up during this rapid expansion phase.
