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Gold loan business is growing rapidly in India and now big corporate groups of the country are also entering this market. In recent weeks, Tata Capital, Godrej Capital and Aditya Birla Capital have taken big steps in the gold loan business. This is a clear indication that gold loan is no longer just a small or niche business, but big groups are seeing it as a big business of the future.

Tata Capital has bought 88.6% stake in Kerala-based company 'Yoglons'. Through this acquisition, Tata gets direct access to over 160 branches, approximately 32,000 customers and a gold loan portfolio of over ₹700 crore. On the other hand, Godrej Capital has acquired the gold loan business of Kanakadurga Finance, which has a loan portfolio of about ₹280 crore, 12,000 customers and 54 branches. Aditya Birla Capital has chosen a different path; Instead of buying an existing institution, the company is creating its own gold loan infrastructure and plans to open about 1,000 new branches across the country.

Why are companies jumping into the gold loan business?

A large amount of gold is kept in homes in India, which is the biggest strength of this market. By May 2026, the total outstanding of loans given against gold jewelery had reached the figure of approximately ₹3.3 lakh crore. A tremendous growth of about 50% was recorded in the gold loan segment in the financial year 2026.

The biggest feature of gold loan is that in this, gold is pledged against the loan, due to which it becomes a secured loan for banks or NBFCs. If the customer is unable to repay the loan, recovery can be done by auctioning the pledged gold as per the prescribed rules. On the other hand, it is also quite easy for the customers to get gold loan. It does not require lengthy legal formalities or many documents like a home loan. For this reason, its demand is increasing rapidly among small businessmen, shopkeepers and now even high income customers.

Shift from unsecured loans to secured loans

Earlier, large NBFCs were mainly focusing on personal loans and other unsecured loans. However, after the increase in such unsecured loans, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has tightened monitoring and rules. In such a situation, companies are now turning to the secured loan segment.

Gold loan is proving to be the most suitable option for this change. In this, valuable gold is present as collateral and its current market value can be easily estimated. This makes it much easier for financial companies to manage their credit risk.

Got direct benefit from rising gold prices

The rise in gold prices in the international and domestic markets has also given a great boost to the gold loan business. When gold prices rise, a customer can get a higher loan amount against the same weight of jewellery. Due to this, the loan portfolio of NBFC companies automatically increases rapidly.

However, big business groups are not just betting on the immediate price of gold. They are investing heavily in opening new branches, hiring employees and developing modern technological systems. This clearly shows that they are considering gold loan as a long-term and sustainable business model.

Overall, the entry of giants like Tata, Godrej and Birla into the gold loan sector is not just a result of the surge in gold prices. Large corporate houses are seeing it as a fast-growing, low-risk and largely scalable retail loan business.