Gold loans surge five time in two years

Kolkata: Bank loans against jewellery surged nearly five times in the last two years to Rs 4.6 lakh crore at the end of March from Rs 93301 crore two years prior, Reserve Bank of India data showed.

On a year-on-year basis, it expanded 123%, registering by far the fastest pace of growth among all lending sectors. No other sector saw triple digit loan growth, according to the sectoral bank credit data released by RBI on Thursday.

The priority sector housing loans grew 39.8% year-on-year to Rs 10.44 lakh crore. The entire housing sector grew at 11.5% rate to Rs 33.56 lakh crore, according to the data published by the Reserve Bank of India.


Meanwhile, bank loans to finance consumer durables and export credit saw deceleration. Consumer durable loans saw a 5.3% year-on-year compression to Rs 21962 crore. Exports credit contracted 8.4% annually to Rs 11436 crore.

Bank's personal loans segment recorded a 16.2% year-on-year growth, as compared with 11.7% a year ago.

Credit to agriculture and allied activities registered a 15.7% annual growth against 10.4% earlier. Credit to industry recorded 15% expansion against 8.2% earlier.

Credit to services sector registered a 19% year-on-year surge as compared with a 12% rise last year, supported by higher bank loans to non-banking financial companies, trade and commercial real estate.