Women Borrowers See Higher Growth In 2024, Repayment Trends Strengthen: Reports

With International Women's Day coming up on March 8, the CRIF High Mark Report 2025 finds women's higher financial contributions. Women borrowers witnessed higher growth in active loans and better repayment behaviour in 2024. The report further reveals better financial inclusion, such as higher loan originations and reduced delinquency rates for all credit products.

The report points out that the women borrowers' outstanding loan portfolio increased by 18 per cent to Rs 36.5 lakh crore in December 2024, and active women borrowers increased by 10.8 per cent to 8.3 crore. Their proportion of total retail loans was constant at 24 per cent. Public sector banks surpassed private banks in lending to women, with their share in loan originations rising from 34.7 per cent in CY22 to 42.8 per cent in CY24.

Gold loans accounted for the highest share of women borrowers at 43 per cent, followed by education loans at 36 per cent, home loans at 32 per cent, and business loans at 25 per cent. The fastest growth in portfolio outstanding was seen in gold loans at 38 per cent, business loans at 32 per cent, and education loans at 31 per cent, the report highlights. The share of women borrowers in credit cards dropped from 16 per cent to 13 per cent, with a 4 per cent decline in active credit cards.

The report emphasizes loan originations increased in categories like gold loans, property loans, consumer durable loans, and two-wheeler loans in the first three-quarters of FY25 compared to last year. Women below 35 years of age were the largest proportion of loan originations, but their proportion fell from 44.3 per cent in CY22 to 43.8 per cent in CY24.

Women also had a significant share in new-to-credit originations, particularly in education loans at 70.9 per cent, followed by home loans at 44.9 per cent and business loans at 45.9 per cent.

The report highlights that women showed better repayment behaviour, with lower delinquency rates across most loan products. Home loan delinquency improved to 0.66 per cent in December 2023 compared to 0.31 per cent in December 2024, whereas business loan delinquency fell from 1.91 per cent to 1.56 per cent. Agri and tractor loans, property loans, and education loans also showed lower delinquency. While personal loans, gold loans, two-wheeler loans, and credit cards saw an increase in delinquency rates.

According to the report, Maharashtra recorded the highest borrowing by women across multiple categories, including home loans at Rs 2.71 lakh crore, business loans at Rs 70,000 crore, and education loans at Rs 11,500 crore. Tamil Nadu dominated gold loans and personal loans and southern states recorded greater credit exposure than other states.