The Rise of ‘Secured Lending’ in India: Decoding ABCL’s Entry into the Gold Loan Business

Gold is today considered a long-term asset that holds deep emotional and financial value for Indian households, making it one of the most trusted cornerstones of the business. As a result, gold loans are currently witnessing strong structural growth in India.

RBI data reported in July shows that the NBFC loans against gold jewellery stood at around INR 3.3 lakh crore in May 2026, registering 69.9% year-on-year growth. It is one of the fastest growing lending categories within NBFC credit.

Seeing the rising power of this financial asset, Aditya Birla Capital Limited (ABCL) has recently announced its entry into the gold loan business, building this business vertical from the ground up, with a strong focus on governance, prudent risk management, operational excellence, and a customer-first approach.The company has announced its plans to establish 1,000 gold loan branches over the next three years.
 

‘‘Gold loans are witnessing strong demand, and the underlying opportunity is significant,’’ says Rakesh Singh, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (NBFC), Aditya Birla Capital Limited (ABCL). 

Strategic Rationale Behind the Entry

Talking about ABCL entry into gold loans, Rakesh says, ‘‘Our entry into this segment is a natural extension of our secured lending strategy. It enables us to further diversify into retail, collateral-backed lending, while complementing our existing retail and MSME lending franchise.’’

Backed by the Aditya Birla Group’s legacy of trust, integrity, and responsible stewardship, the company is expanding its presence across India.

‘‘We believe that the combination of the Aditya Birla Group’s trusted legacy and a thoughtfully built gold loan business will further strengthen Aditya Birla Capital’s position as a lender of choice in one of India’s fastest growing retail credit segments,’’ says Rakesh.

Expansion Strategy for the Business

ABCL is undertaking a ‘phase-wise' approach to build its gold loan business. As part of this strategy, the company plans to establish 200-300 dedicated gold loan branches by March 2027 across high-potential markets. 
 

Elaborating on the brand’s expansion strategy, Rakesh shares, ‘‘We have our organic plan to grow. We have already identified key locations and are putting in place the required infrastructure, talent, and operating framework to support a scalable rollout.’’

He further shares ‘‘This approach allows us to build the business in a manner that reflects the values and principles, while ensuring consistency in customer experience, operational excellence, robust governance, and prudent risk management practices.’’

Over the next three years, the company plans to build a network of approximately 1,000 gold loan branches, creating a strong pan-India franchise and significantly deepening its reach across the country.

Targeting Customers Across Urban and Semi-Urban Markets

The gold loan business will cater to customers across urban and semi-urban markets, serving both existing customers within the Aditya Birla Capital ecosystem and new customers through an integrated distribution network of physical branches and digital platforms, shares Rakesh.

Gold Loan Market in India

According to IMARC, the Indian gold loan market has reached USD 3.79 Billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 5.23 Billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 3.50% during 2026-2034. The market is driven due to rising price of this base metal, quick and secured lending, large holdings by households and changing regulatory framework.

‘‘The gold loan market in India is entering a significant phase of structural growth and evolution. Emerging as one of the fastest growing businesses in the lending category within NBFC credit, the industry is becoming increasingly competitive and formalised, with lenders looking to build scale through branch expansion, technology, and differentiated customer propositions,’’ says Rakesh.

He further shares that the opportunity is not simply about growing the gold loan book, but about building a sustainable and customer-centric secured lending franchise, as the customers are increasingly looking for convenience, transparency, and speed, alongside confidence that their gold will be handled securely.

‘‘Trust, transparent pricing, secure handling of pledged gold, and a seamless ‘branch-plus-digital’ experience are particularly important in the gold loan business,’’ says Rakesh.

Omni Channel Strategy for the Brand

Talking about the brand’s omni channel strategy, Rakesh says, ‘‘Our approach is to combine dedicated branch-led service with omnichannel digital capabilities….We believe that the combination of the Aditya Birla Group’s trusted legacy, our distribution capabilities and digital infrastructure, and a thoughtfully built gold loan business will allow us to participate meaningfully in this evolving retail credit opportunity.’’

He further emphasizes that the gold loan offering is designed to provide customers with a seamless borrowing experience, supported by transparent pricing, secure handling of pledged gold and swift loan disbursals. As the company is expanding its presence across India, the extensive distribution network and digital capabilities will complement each other to deliver a superior customer experience.

This Omni channel approach is also built on the broader scale of the Aditya Birla Capital ecosystem, which has a nationwide reach with over 1,759 branches and more than 200,000 agents/channel partners, along with several bank partners.

‘‘Our existing digital capabilities will also play an important role in the gold loan business. Within the NBFC business, AI-led interventions are already improving operating efficiency and customer service, with 63% of contact-centre interactions and 71% of service emails processed through AI during the quart. We will build on these digital capabilities as we expand the gold loan offering, alongside our physical branch network, to create a seamless customer experience,’’ says Rakesh.

Complementing ABCL's Existing Retail and MSME Lending Portfolio

‘‘The gold loan business represents a strategic expansion of our secured lending portfolio and is a natural extension of our secured lending strategy,’’ says Rakesh.

He shares that the existing NBFC business has a diversified lending franchise across personal and consumer loans, unsecured business loans, secured business loans and corporate/mid-market loans, serving retail, SME, and corporate customers. In FY26, retail and SME together comprised approximately 68% of NBFC AUM. The gold loan offering therefore adds another secured lending solution to this existing portfolio.

‘‘We remain confident in the long-term opportunities across the Retail and MSME segments, where we have demonstrated our ability to scale sustainably and these segments will continue to pivot our growth strategy. As we continue to enhance our sourcing capabilities, broaden our product suite, and leverage our proprietary digital platforms, we believe we are well placed to further consolidate our position as a lender of choice. Overall, our approach remains consistent: grow responsibly, stay close to our customers, and deliver steady, long-term value for all stakeholders,’’ concludes Rakesh.