Kamal Ghorui
Mumbai: Gold loans have expanded fourfold since March 2022, and their share in the retail credit portfolio is now second only to housing loans at Rs 16.8 lakh crore. However, despite the growth the business is disproportionately concentrated in South India with three states accounting for over 50% of all gold loans.According to the Gold Loan Landscape report by TransUnion Cibil, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka together account for 51.1% of total gold loan originations in the country, highlighting a strong regional skew despite rising nationwide demand for credit against gold.Tamil Nadu leads by a wide margin with a 25.8% market share and 23% growth in origination volumes. Andhra Pradesh follows with a 13.6% share and 34% growth, while Karnataka holds an 11.7% share and has recorded 41% growth.Other southern states also feature prominently. Kerala accounts for 9% of the market with 16% growth, and Telangana has an 8.8% share with a higher growth rate of 55%. Maharashtra contributes 5.8% with 40% growth, while West Bengal at 3.6% has seen 46% growth. Gujarat holds a 3.3% share with 51% growth, Odisha has 3% with 21% growth, and Uttar Pradesh accounts for 2.7% but has recorded the highest growth among the top ten states at 75%.According to the report, while the southern states dominate in terms of share, faster expansion is visible in emerging markets such as Assam, UP, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, where lower base levels are driving sharp increases in loan originations.
