New Delhi, April 15 -- Driven by soaring global prices and across-the-table lending, the gold loan market has exploded, expanding almost 4 times in just four years. This surge has made gold loans the second-largest retail credit category in India, according to the Gold Loan Landscape Report by TransUnion Cibil in April 2026. With a total stock of Rs.16 trillion, gold loans trail only housing loans.

Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka lead in gold loan origination, as per the report.

Given this, the increase in ticket sizes and higher borrowing capacity, stress signals are starting to emerge. While gold loans have become popular, they could also turn out to be a liability for households, given the risk of margin calls when the valu...