Large non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in India are increasingly turning to mergers and acquisitions to expand their gold loan portfolios, capitalizing on a sector that has seen explosive growth over the past year.
The strategic shift reflects a broader industry trend where established lenders seek to rapidly scale operations in high-demand asset classes by acquiring smaller, specialized competitors rather than building capacity organically.
The appetite for consolidation is driven by robust performance in the gold lending segment.
As of May 2026, the gold loan portfolio of these large NBFCs surged 69.9% year-on-year, a significant acceleration from the 38.9% growth recorded in the same period the previous year.
This double-digit expansion underscores the resilience of gold-backed credit even as broader credit growth in the NBFC sector remains more modest, with outstanding loans rising just 2% year-on-year in the January-March quarter of 2026.
The push into gold loans aligns with sustained strength in the underlying commodity market.