Summary of this article
Personal loan growth rose to 16.9 per cent in August.
Housing and vehicle loans recorded stronger YoY growth.
Gold loan growth slowed, while credit card growth moderated.
Growth in personal loans increased 16.90 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in August 2026, as against 11.90 per cent in the same month last year, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on September 30, 2026.
Personal loans accounted for around one-third of the total bank credit, with outstanding personal loans reaching Rs 72.90 lakh crore by the end of August. The rise was supported by higher credit across housing, vehicle and gold loans, although credit card growth slowed during the period.
Housing And Vehicle Loans Grow Faster
Housing loans, the largest part of personal credit, grew 11.10 per cent y-o-y to Rs 35.6 lakh crore in August. The category had grown 9.70 per cent during the same period a year earlier. Vehicle loans grew 19.70 per cent y-o-y to Rs 7.80 lakh crore. This was higher than the 8.70 per cent growth recorded in August 2025.
Gold loans also recorded a sharp increase, though their growth rate was lower than the previous year’s level. Outstanding gold loans rose 83.20 per cent y-o-y to Rs 5.60 lakh crore in August, compared to a 130 per cent rise a year earlier.
The RBI data notes that banks generally do not classify agricultural loans backed by gold jewellery as gold loans.
Credit card outstanding, meanwhile, grew 3.60 per cent y-o-y to around Rs 3 lakh crore. This was lower than the 4.40 per cent growth recorded in August last year.
Credit To Industry And Services Rises
Bank credit growth was also recorded across other major sectors. Credit to agriculture and allied activities increased 17.20 per cent y-o-y to Rs 27.30 lakh crore in August, as against 7.60 per cent a year earlier.
Credit to industry grew 18.20 per cent to Rs 45.80 lakh crore, compared to 7 per cent in August 2025. Credit to the services sector grew 24.30 per cent y-o-y to Rs 63 lakh crore.
India’s Foreign Liabilities Rise
Separately, India’s net liabilities to foreign investors rose by $16.5 billion during the April-June quarter to $220.30 billion by June 2026. India’s international assets compared with its foreign liabilities fell to 84.60 per cent in June from 85.70 per cent in March, according to the RBI data.
The rise in foreign liabilities was mainly driven by a $15.70 billion increase in direct investment and a $4.20 billion increase in other investments. This was partly offset by a $14 billion fall in foreign portfolio equity investments.
Reserve assets made up 55.10 per cent of India’s international financial assets, while overseas direct investment accounted for more than one-fourth of it.
