A gold loan is a secured loan where the borrower pledges gold jewellery or coins as collateral and the lender advances cash against it. Because it is fully secured by gold, it is usually quick to disburse, carries lower interest than an unsecured personal loan, and the lender can auction the gold if the borrower defaults. In India both banks and specialised gold-loan NBFCs (such as Muthoot Finance and Manappuram Finance) offer them. The RBI caps the amount at 75% of the value of the pledged gold (the loan-to-value or LTV ceiling).

What is the loan-to-value (LTV) limit on gold loans in India?

The RBI caps gold loans at a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 75%, meaning a lender can advance at most 75% of the assessed value of the pledged gold. The LTV is measured against the value of the gold content, and lenders must maintain it over the life of the loan. The ceiling protects both the borrower and the lender against a fall in gold prices and is a core part of the RBI's regulatory framework for lending against gold collateral.

Why have gold loans grown so fast in India?

Several forces have pushed gold loans up: a sharp rise in gold prices lifts the value of the same pledged jewellery, so the same gram of gold supports a larger loan; banks expanded retail gold-loan branches and digital gold-loan products; demand for quick, fully-secured credit rose among households and small businesses; and some agriculture loans collateralised by gold were reclassified into the retail gold-loan bucket. Because the loans are secured and short-tenor, lenders see them as relatively low-risk, which is why the RBI also watches gold-loan practices closely for valuation, auction and LTV compliance.

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India’s gold loans — bank books, NBFC lenders and the 75% LTV rule

Q: How big is India's bank gold-loan book?

Bank lending against gold jewellery -- a sub-segment of personal loans in the RBI sectoral deployment data -- has grown rapidly, from roughly Rs 0.6 lakh crore around FY21 to about Rs 1.8 lakh crore by FY25 on a provisional basis. The FY25 jump is partly mechanical: gold prices rose sharply and some agriculture loans backed by gold were reclassified into the retail gold-loan bucket. These figures are rounded and approximate and exclude the separate gold-loan books of NBFCs, so the combined organised gold-loan market is larger. See the RBI sources for exact numbers.

Quick answerIndia’s bank loans against gold jewellery have grown fast — from roughly Rs 0.6 lakh crore around FY21 to about Rs 1.8 lakh crore by FY25 (provisional). The FY25 jump is partly mechanical: gold prices rose sharply and some agriculture gold loans were reclassified into the retail gold-loan bucket. Separately, gold-loan NBFCs such as Muthoot and Manappuram carry large books, so the combined organised market is bigger than the bank series alone. The RBI caps gold loans at a 75% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. Figures are official, rounded, approximate and revised periodically.

The chart shows outstanding bank loans against gold jewellery (Rs lakh crore) by fiscal year; the table below carries the same figures so the page is readable without JavaScript — for accessibility and AI answer engines.

Bank loans against gold jewellery (Rs lakh crore, outstanding)

Fiscal year	Outstanding	Note
FY21	Rs ~0.6 lakh cr	Pandemic year -- households pledge gold for liquidity
FY22	Rs ~0.7 lakh cr	Steady growth as gold-loan demand normalises
FY23	Rs ~0.9 lakh cr	Retail gold-loan book expands with branch push
FY24	Rs ~1.1 lakh cr	Double-digit growth; gold prices firm
FY25	Rs ~1.8 lakh cr	Sharp jump -- gold-price rise + some reclassification of agri gold loans

Metric: outstanding bank loans against gold jewellery (a personal-loans sub-segment of the RBI sectoral deployment of bank credit), Rs lakh crore at fiscal year-end. All figures are rounded and approximate; recent years are provisional and revised. The FY25 rise is partly mechanical — gold prices rose and some agriculture loans backed by gold were reclassified into the retail gold-loan bucket. This bank series excludes the separate gold-loan books of NBFCs. For exact latest figures see the sources linked below.

What it means for bankers

Gold loans are among the fastest-growing, lowest-risk slices of Indian retail credit: they are fully secured, short-tenor and quick to recover, so a rising gold price actually expands lending capacity against the same pledged jewellery. That is why banks have pushed retail and digital gold-loan products and why the segment now sits alongside specialised sectoral personal-loan growth. But the same dynamics invite scrutiny: the RBI has flagged gaps in valuation, end-use monitoring, auction transparency and LTV compliance, and the 75% loan-to-value ceiling must be maintained through the life of the loan. For lenders, the read-across is that gold loans cushion asset quality in a downturn, but operational and conduct controls — not credit risk — are where the regulatory risk lies. Gold-loan NBFCs such as Muthoot and Manappuram remain the specialist incumbents the banks are competing with.

Key terms in this dataPlain-English definitions of the terms behind this dashboard — see the full Indian banking glossary. Non-performing asset (NPA) · Scheduled commercial bank

More live dataExplore BankPulse’s other live RBI dashboards: Sectoral Credit · Credit & Deposit Growth · NPA / Asset Quality · Priority Sector Lending.

India gold loans FAQ

What is a gold loan?

A gold loan is a secured loan where the borrower pledges gold jewellery or coins and the lender advances cash against it. It is usually quick to disburse and cheaper than an unsecured personal loan because it is fully secured; the lender can auction the gold on default. In India both banks and gold-loan NBFCs (Muthoot, Manappuram) offer them, and the RBI caps the amount at 75% of the gold's value.

How big is India's bank gold-loan book?

Bank loans against gold jewellery have grown from roughly Rs 0.6 lakh crore around FY21 to about Rs 1.8 lakh crore by FY25 (provisional). The FY25 jump is partly mechanical -- gold prices rose and some agri gold loans were reclassified into the retail bucket. Figures are rounded, approximate and exclude NBFC gold-loan books, so the combined organised market is larger.

What is the loan-to-value (LTV) limit on gold loans?

The RBI caps gold loans at a loan-to-value (LTV) of 75% -- a lender can advance at most 75% of the assessed value of the pledged gold, and must maintain that ratio over the life of the loan. The ceiling protects borrower and lender against a fall in gold prices.

Why have gold loans grown so fast?

Rising gold prices lift the value of the same pledged jewellery, so each gram supports a bigger loan; banks expanded retail and digital gold-loan products; demand for quick secured credit rose; and some agri gold loans were reclassified into the retail bucket. Because the loans are secured and short-tenor, lenders treat them as low-risk, while the RBI watches valuation, auction and LTV practices closely.

Methodology & sources: see how BankPulse dashboards are sourced, verified & updated · machine-readable gold-loans JSON feed.

Last reviewed 19 Jun 2026 by Vikram Jain

Source: RBI — Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit (loans against gold jewellery, a personal-loans sub-segment) and RBI regulatory material on lending against gold collateral, rbi.org.in. Figures are rounded and approximate; recent years are provisional and revised, and the bank series excludes NBFC gold-loan books. We never reproduce source text verbatim. Reviewed by Vikram Jain. Last updated 19 Jun 2026, 05:39 IST.