Kamal Ghorui
MUMBAI: Bank credit growth in FY26 was led by services and retail segments, with non-food credit expanding by Rs 29.2 lakh crore, driven largely by lending to NBFCs, housing, and gold-backed loans, according to sectoral data.Services and personal loans together accounted for over two-thirds of incremental credit. Services saw an addition of Rs 9.7 lakh crore, contributing 33.1% of total growth, while personal loans rose by Rs 9.7 lakh crore, accounting for 33.2%.Within services, NBFCs emerged as the largest recipient of incremental credit. Loans to NBFCs rose by Rs 4.3 lakh crore, making up 14.8% of total credit growth. Housing finance companies within this segment accounted for Rs 50,157 crore, or 1.7% of the incremental credit.Retail lending growth was led by housing and gold loans. Housing loans increased by Rs 3.5 lakh crore, contributing 11.8% of total credit expansion. Loans against gold jewellery rose by Rs 2.5 lakh crore, accounting for 8.7% of the total. According to the data, part of the increase in gold loans reflects a reclassification of certain agricultural loans into the retail segment.In percentage terms, loans against gold jewellery rose 124.8%. Computer software grew 39%, while wholesale trade expanded 20.1%. Personal loans recorded a growth of 16.2%, indicating stronger momentum in these segments relative to others. Industry credit rose by about Rs 6 lakh crore, contributing 20.4% of the total increase, while agriculture and allied activities saw an addition of Rs 3.6 lakh crore, accounting for 12.3%.
