Policies · BFSI
Bajaj Finance, Manappuram Finance, Muthoot Finance and Shriram Finance have all reported a rise in overdue gold loans after the RBI's revised gold-lending framework took effect from April 1, 2026.
✦ AI SUMMARY 30-second read
- Bajaj Finance posted a Rs 1,047 crore rise in stage 2 gold loans in the September quarter and has stopped short-tenor schemes since August.
- Manappuram Finance's stage 2 gold loans rose to approximately 5 per cent of its portfolio at September-end, from less than 0.5 per cent a year earlier.
- Muthoot Finance's standalone stage 2 loans jumped to Rs 23,467 crore at September-end from Rs 1,876 crore in June.
Why it matters: The shift from bullet repayments to periodic interest or EMI structures is triggering widespread delinquencies across India's gold-loan NBFC sector.
This summary was generated by AI. Editors may review and update it.
Document details
| Document type | Rules & Regulation |
|---|---|
| Issued by | Reserve Bank of India |
| Region | India |
| Published | 14 November 2026 |
Four gold-loan non-banking financial companies — Bajaj Finance, Manappuram Finance, Muthoot Finance and Shriram Finance — have reported an increase in overdue loans following changes in repayment structures for gold-backed lending. The lenders say the underlying portfolios remain adequately collateralised despite the rise in stressed assets.
The Reserve Bank of India's revised gold-lending framework took effect from April 1, 2026. Unlike traditional bullet loans, where principal and interest fall due at maturity, lenders subsequently introduced products requiring periodic interest payments or equated monthly instalments.
What the document says
The revised framework requires lenders to move away from bullet repayment structures. Several NBFCs responded by launching periodic-payment and EMI-based gold loan products, discontinuing or scaling back schemes that allowed lump-sum settlement at the end of a short tenure.
Bajaj Finance's vice chairman and managing director Rajeev Jain said at the company's earnings call that the firm had stopped short-tenor schemes entirely since August. He said around Rs 550 crore of the affected portfolio had already returned to stage 1 by the time of the call.
Who is affected
Borrowers accustomed to bullet repayments are still adjusting to monthly interest-servicing requirements, according to managements at multiple lenders. Muthoot Finance managing director Alexander George said customers used to one-year bullet arrangements were finding the transition to monthly payments unfamiliar, necessitating greater customer education and collection efforts.
Manappuram Finance chairman and managing director V P Nandakumar said short-term products would be reduced and business would shift toward one-year loan products. The lender said it would continue offering shorter-tenure loans only to borrowers with clearly identifiable short-term needs. Management attributed the rise in delinquencies largely to customers adjusting to unfamiliar repayment schedules, and noted that collections were showing encouraging early trends, with several borrowers making full or partial payments to regularise overdue accounts.
Muthoot Finance reported standalone stage 2 loans of Rs 23,467 crore at September-end, up from Rs 1,876 crore in June. Stage 3 assets rose to Rs 7,268 crore from Rs 3,927 crore over the same period.
What happens next
Bajaj Finance has already wound down short-tenor schemes as a firm-wide policy. Manappuram Finance is in the process of migrating customers toward one-year products while maintaining short-tenure options for a limited borrower segment.
The lenders say the stress is transitional in nature, pointing to early improvement in collection trends and adequate collateral cover as reasons for measured confidence in portfolio recovery.
