·       The proportion of eligible Indians who have taken credit at least once has more than doubled from 35% in March 2017 to 74% in March 2026, with credit monitoring[1] jumping from 1% to 35% between March 2018 and March 2026

·       Credit growth is being driven by women, younger borrowers and non-metro regions with growth in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar outpacing that of traditional strongholds of the west and south

·       Study shows significant opportunity to bring more New-To-Credit (NTC) consumers as well as NTC commercial entities into the formal credit fold

Mumbai, India, 30 July 2026: India’s formal credit footprint has expanded significantly over the past nine years reveals TransUnion CIBIL’s new report, Unlocking Access: Journey of Credit Expansion in India. The report presents a study from March 2017 to March 2026 on how formal credit access has widened and how participation within the ecosystem has deepened through greater demographic diversity and credit awareness.

India’s credit-eligible[2] population increased from 79 crore in 2017 to 89 crore consumers in 2026. Of this group, the share of ever-credited[3] consumers, i.e., those who have accessed retail credit at least once, more than doubled from 35% in March 2017 to 74% in March 2026, demonstrating the wide progress and penetration of formal credit in India in the last few years.

The proportion of credit-active[4] consumers within the credit-eligible[5] population also increased during this period, from 11% in March 2017 to 28% in March 2026. However, the compounded annual growth rate of the credit-active consumer base moderated from 14% during the March 2017–March 2019 period to 9% during March 2024–March 2026 period. At the same time, the share of New-to-Credit (NTC) consumers in retail originations declined from 32% in March 2017 quarter to 13% in the March 2026 quarter. These numbers indicate significant opportunity to both deepen engagement with those already within the credit fold, and to bring new consumers into the formal credit ecosystem.

Chart 1: Overview of India’s Retail Credit Access March 2017 vs March 2026

(Data for 2017 calculated basis the borrower base in March 2017, while data for 2026 is based on the borrower base of March 2026.)

Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, said, “The past decade has been a defining one for India’s credit ecosystem. In the 2016-17 period, the country saw momentous changes in the form of demonetization, the introduction of GST and the rapid adoption of Unified Payment Interface (UPI). Over the course of the decade, regulators, banks and lenders, NBFCs, fintechs, Credit Information Companies, technological advances and the digital public infrastructure collectively expanded pathways to credit. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated adoption of digital tools. Cumulatively, these developments are believed to have contributed to increased access to credit and financial inclusion, while enabling lenders to make more informed and timely credit decisions.”

Borrower Wallets Shift Towards Lifestyle-Driven and Entrepreneurial Credit

The deepening of borrower engagement was accompanied by a marked change in the composition of credit wallets, with consumers showing a clear preference for consumption and entrepreneurial credit.

Consumption credit[6], comprising personal loans, credit cards and consumer durable loans, emerged as the most widely held category. The share of credit-active consumers holding consumption products increased from 34% in March 2017 to 51% in March 2026, while the number of consumers holding these products grew fourfold in the same period.

Business-oriented credit[7] recorded an even sharper increase, with the share of credit-active consumers holding these products rising from 3% to 9%, while their number grew tenfold – registering the fastest expansion among the categories studied. In comparison, while gold loan[8] participation increased from 19% to 22%, growth in vehicle loans[9] and mortgage products[10] remained stable.

Chart 2: Changing Product Preferences March 2017 vs March 2026

(Data for 2017 calculated basis the credit-active borrower base in March 2017, while data for 2026 is based on the credit-active borrower base of March 2026.)

Mr. Jain added, “The changes in wallet composition point to how credit is being increasingly seen as a means to drive a lifestyle-driven approach today, compared to the asset-based approach seen a decade ago. Credit dispersion has travelled a long way thanks to consumption loans. At the same time, the sharp increase in business loans by individuals points to increased use of credit by individuals for entrepreneurial activity. This creates a great opportunity for lenders to take a holistic view of individual proprietors and their business together as part of their lending strategies.”

A More Diverse Borrower Base Expands Credit Participation

The widening of formal credit access was accompanied by a change in the composition of India’s credit-active population. Women borrowers increased their share from 22% in March 2017 to 30% in March 2026, while that of young borrowers[11] rose from 33% to 39% in the same period. The share of consumers from semi-urban and rural regions (SURU) went up from 53% to 63%.

Within these expanding segments, younger consumers from semi-urban and rural regions in particular increased their share from 47% to 61%. Among women, the share with more than five years of retail credit experience increased from 29% to 43%, while semi-urban and rural credit-active women consumers went up to 64% in March 2026, compared to 57% in March 2017.

As credit participation widened, the share of over-leveraged borrowers[12] originations increased from 5% in FY 2017 to 18% in FY 2024 before moderating to 15% in FY 2026. The study noted that industry action helped stem the increase over the last two years. Higher leverage was largely concentrated among high-momentum demographic groups such as younger consumers.

While expansion of the borrower base has led to wide credit penetration in the last nine years, rise in credit awareness has added depth to the credit landscape. From nearly non-existent credit monitoring in March 2018, the proportion of credit-active consumers who monitor their credit saw a big jump to 35% in March 2026[13]. The share of credit-experienced consumers[14], i.e., those with a longer credit history, increased from 38% to 54%.

Among the biggest findings of the study is the changing geographic credit inclusion map of India. A state-wise analysis of credit uptake reveals that growth in northern and central India has outpaced that of western and southern India between 2017 and 2026. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, seen as traditional strongholds of credit uptake, remained among the country’s largest credit markets, although their respective shares moderated from 12% to 10% and from 11% to 9%. On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh increased its contribution from 8% in March 2017 to 11% in March 2026, Madhya Pradesh rose from 4% to 6%, Bihar from 3% to 5%, and West Bengal from 4% to 5%.

Chart 3: Re-writing of India’s Credit Inclusion Map

(Data for 2017 calculated basis the credit-active borrower base in March 2017, while data for 2026 is based on the credit-active borrower base of March 2026.)

“Two factors have led to the strong growth of credit in India in the last decade – greater demographic diversity and credit awareness. The former has enabled expansion of the borrower base by bringing in newer demographic segments into the credit fold. The latter has added depth by allowing consumers to remain there and use credit as a means to fulfil life goals. Women are clearly becoming more financially aware, engaged, and driving sustainable inclusion. Thanks to digitization and heightened credit awareness, credit maturity among women borrowers has been impressive. For younger borrowers, mobile phones rather than two-wheelers and vehicles appear to be products of choice, as this mobile phone-native generation sees them as productivity tools.

“What also stands out is how India’s state-wise credit heatmap has undergone a gradual but clear shift. While the traditionally dominant states in west and south India continue their strong credit uptake, states in north and central India have seen a remarkable rise in credit participation. Our aspiration of Viksit Bharat depends in large measure on such a pan-India balance in credit growth, with more and more consumers moving from informal to formal credit”, Mr. Jain explained.

Expansion in Commercial Borrower Base Creates Further Headroom for Growth

Moving from consumer to commercial, the identified credit-eligible commercial entity base increased from 6.3 crore in March 2021 to 8.7 crore in March 2026. In the same period, the share of proprietorship and partnership-driven enterprises went up from 70% to 88%, low-risk entities[15] rose from 13% to 37% and credit-experienced entities[16] from 30% to 40%.

However, the share of entities that have accessed commercial credit declined from 50% to 41%, the credit-active share dipped from 10% to 9% and NTC also went down from 60% to 39% between quarter ended March 2021 and quarter ended March 2026. This indicates further capacity to bring eligible enterprises and medium, small and micro entrepreneurs into formal credit.

Mr. Jain added, “There are some big positives in the commercial story. The rise in proprietorships and partnerships indicates that individuals are now taking more business loans which in turn means increasing credit penetration at the grassroots level. The increase in the number of entities rated as low-risk points to the success of credit guarantee schemes in supporting borrowers. At the same time, the overall numbers suggest that the wide expansion in the MSME borrower base in the last five years has led to significant opportunity to onboard more commercial entities, especially those that are NTC, and to deepen engagement.”

Chart 4: Diversified Commercial Growth with Enhanced Access & Improved Quality

(Data for 2021 calculated basis the borrower base in March 2021, while data for 2026 is based on the borrower base of March 2026.)

“In essence, what this long-view study of India’s credit growth tells us is that the last decade was a defining one for the country. The last decade is the one in which India’s credit ecosystem came of age. If, at the start of this decade, the credit landscape was fragmented and collateral-led, then by the end of the decade, it had become diversified, data-driven, digitally enabled, and increasingly disciplined. As credit penetration and credit awareness deepened, the central question for many borrowers moved from ‘Can I access credit?’ to ‘How far can credit take me?’

“Looking ahead, there may be significant opportunities to build further on this strong period of credit expansion. By extending engagement with credit-active consumers, and tapping into new-to-credit consumers and commercial entities, our credit ecosystem can ensure balance between scale and quality of credit participation as we continue our journey of a credit-fit India” Mr. Jain concluded.

About TransUnion CIBIL

India’s pioneer credit information company, TransUnion CIBIL, ensures the credit history of each person and business entity is reliably represented.

We have developed technology and innovative solutions across core credit, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for millions of people and MSMEs in India.

We serve the financial sector as well as commercial entities and individual consumers. Our customers in India include banks, credit institutions, NBFCs, housing finance companies, microfinance companies, telecom companies and insurance firms.

For more information visit www.transunioncibil.com

[1] Credit monitoring are consumers who monitored their credit with TransUnion CIBIL in the one year preceding the period end. Studied here from March 2018 to March 2026.

[2] Credit-eligible is the total adult population aged between 18 to 60 as of period end

[3] Ever-credited are consumers who have ever availed a retail loan as of period end

[4] Credit-active consumers are those who have at least 1 retail loan with balance or limit reported on the portfolio date

[5] Credit-eligible is the total adult population aged between 18 to 60 years as of period end based on population estimate from the World Bank database.

[6] Consumption loans include personal loans, credit card and consumer durable loans

[7] Business Oriented refers to business loans given to individuals, construction equipment loan and commercial vehicle loan

[8] Gold includes gold loans and PSL-gold loans

[9] Vehicle refers to passenger vehicle loans like auto loans and two-wheeler loans

[10] Mortgage includes housing loan and property loan

[11] Younger consumers are aged less than 35

[12] Leverage consumers are those classified under segment 4 and 5 based on proprietary leverage segments developed by TransUnion CIBIL

[13] Credit monitoring are consumers who monitored their credit with TransUnion CIBIL in last one year from period end.

[14] Credit Experienced are consumers who have been in the retail bureau for more than 5 years

[15] Low Risk - CIBIL Commercial Rank (1-3).

[16] Credit Experienced are entities who have been in the commercial bureau for more than 4 years

Mumbai, India, 8 July 2026: India’s first-time credit cardholders or New-To-Credit-Card (NTCC) are younger and more broadly geographically distributed, according to TransUnion CIBIL’s latest research whitepaper, Beyond the Swipe 2026: How India Uses Card as a Credit Instrument. As of March 2026, 50% of NTCC consumers were aged 30 years or below[1], up from 43% in March 2022, while 46% resided within semi-urban and rural markets, up from 42%, during the same period.

NTCC consumers are entering the card market with a more active credit profile. The whitepaper found that 25% of NTCC consumers already had three or more open credit products, suggesting that for many consumers, the first credit card is being added to an existing credit wallet, and not necessarily an entry product. Compared to the United Kingdom at 70%, Colombia at 62% and Hong Kong at 98%, India’s credit card penetration at 25% of credit-active consumers, as of March 2026, is lower than several mature and emerging credit markets. The current low penetration rate along with the promising demographic participation clearly indicates an opportunity to grow the card portfolios responsibly.

A Ten-Year Sweep of India’s Credit Card Market

India’s credit card market has expanded significantly over the last decade, across the number of cards, consumers and balances. Between March 2016 and March 2026, the number of cardholders grew 3.6x from 1.4 crore to 5.2 crore. Outstanding card balances rose at a faster pace, growing 8.3x from ₹0.4 lakh crore to ₹3.1 lakh crore, with active credit cards growing 5x from 2.1 crore to 10.7 crore.

The decade-long view also shows deeper card engagement within the cardholder base, with the average card balance per consumer increasing from ₹31,000 to ₹65,000.

Chart 1: Growth in Credit Card Balances Over 10-Year Period

Card Growth Continues as Wallets Become More Diversified

As the credit card market expanded over the last ten years, cardholders also began carrying a wider mix of credit products. Active credit cards accounted for 56% of consumption-led credit accounts in March 2016. By March 2026, that share stood at 38%. Card balances as a share of consumption-led credit balances in the industry also moved from 36% to 26% over the same period.

The role of cards in consumers’ wallets has changed as well. The share of card-only in the wallet consumers declined from 50% in March 2016 to 33% in March 2026, while consumers holding other consumption loans in the wallet increased from 16% to 32%. Consumers holding three or more credit cards also increased from 12% to 22%, showing a more layered card relationship within the same consumer wallet.

Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD & CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, said, “The decade-long expansion of India’s credit card market is now being shaped by a more active and varied borrower wallet. Many consumers use cards alongside small-ticket personal loans, consumer durable loans and other short-tenure credit products. This reflects a consumer credit wallet that is becoming deeper, more formal and more responsive to everyday consumption needs. At the same time, it places greater responsibility on the ecosystem to ensure that growth remains aligned with affordability, repayment capacity and the borrower’s overall obligations. As card adoption continues to expand, the focus must remain on widening access to formal credit while preserving credit quality, borrower confidence and long-term portfolio resilience.”

Different Cardholders, Different Card Paths

As cards become part of more diversified borrower wallets, cardholders can no longer be viewed as one uniform group. The ten-year study segments non-NTCC card consumers into four personas based on how the line of credit associated with cards is being utilized and what other non-card products sit in the cardholder’s wallet. Card-centric users form the largest segment at 33%, followed by occasional card users at 18%, diversified credit users at 12%, and high exposure users at 10%. The portion of cardholders with less than 12 months of card experience (9% of cardholders in March 2026) may transition into one of the four personas as they gain maturity with the product and their usage evolves over time.

Chart 2: Cardholder Personas in March 2026

Cardholders with no utilisation information or 30+ DPD have been excluded from persona definition.

These personas are defined at a point in time for all cardholders who are current on their payment as of March 2024. The persona framework may provide insights into potential future credit activity. Over the next 12 months, from March 2024 to March 2025, 62% of diversified credit users and 48% of high exposure users availed a new unsecured product, compared with only 27% of card-centric users and 12% of occasional card users respectively. The balance build-up behaviour over the 12-month period and delinquencies over the next 12 months also differ materially across diverse card personas.

Chart 3: Indexed Growth in Credit Card Balances by Consumer Persona

(Mar 2024–Mar 2025)

Average balance per consumer for March 2024 round to nearest 100. Average balance per consumer indexed at March 2024 for each persona for balance growth.

Gen Z Often Starts Credit Before Their First Card

For many young borrowers, their first credit card is no longer their first step into formal credit. The findings show a clear shift in how young Indians are building their credit wallets, with 24 to 30-year-old Gen Z consumers who entered the card market in 2024 more likely to already have an active credit footprint than same-age Millennial consumers in 2018.

At the time of first card origination, 31% of Gen Z consumers already had two or more open credit accounts in their wallet. The share of consumers with no prior credit experience was lower at 30% for Gen Z in 2024, compared with 56% for Millennials in 2018. Gen Z consumers were also more likely to already have consumption-led credit products in their wallet, with 18% holding an open consumer durable loan and 23% holding an open small-ticket personal loan at first card opening.

Early card behaviour also points to more active usage. While card activation levels for young NTCC consumers remained similar across the two cohorts, Gen Z consumers were more likely to spend a higher amount in the first three months of opening their first credit card. Around 28% of Gen Z NTCC consumers had balances above ₹25,000 within the first three months of card origination, compared with around 20% of same-age Millennial consumers in 2018.

The activity continued beyond the first card relationship. Around 69% of Gen Z NTCC consumers opened another credit product within 12 months of their first card, compared with 55% of same-age Millennial NTCC consumers in 2018. Among consumers who opened another product, 39% of Gen Z consumers did so with their first credit card issuer, compared with 33% for Millennials.

Chart 4: Gen Z Outpaces Millennials in Opening Subsequent Credit Products After First Card

Mr. Jain added, “The role of the first credit card is also changing in a way that deserves close attention. Many new cardholders are still early in their formal credit journey, but a growing share is entering the card market with prior credit experience and with other credit products already present in the wallet. This is especially visible among Gen Z consumers, who are adding products sooner and showing stronger engagement with their first card issuer.

“For lenders, the opportunity is not just to acquire the customer at the point of first card issuance,” he said. “It is to earn trust, remain relevant as the customer’s credit needs evolve and build a relationship that supports access to credit while maintaining discipline across the lifecycle. That balance between growth, loyalty and responsible credit behaviour will be an important marker for the next phase of India’s card market.”

[1] For the purposes of this report, Millennials are defined as born between 1980-1994 and Gen Z as born between 1995-2010

Mumbai, India, 3 July 2026: India’s commercial credit market is seeing a shift in borrower composition, with individual borrowers with business-oriented loans now forming a meaningful share of overall commercial credit balances, according to the latest MSME Pulse released by TransUnion CIBIL and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

Loans to individuals accounted for 28% of outstanding commercial balances, while loans to entities accounted for 72%. Individual borrower balances grew 1.8 times during the three-year period between March 2023 and March 2026, compared with 1.5 times growth in entity borrower balances during the same period.

The report finds that outstanding commercial credit stood at ₹65.8 lakh crore as of March 2026, across 4.4 crore active commercial trades. This is a year-over-year (YoY) growth of 14% compared to the total outstanding credit of Rs 57.9 lakh crore as of March 2025.

Chart 1: Individual Business Borrowers Credit Profile

Individual Borrowers Form a Sizeable Business Credit Segment

As of March 2026, 2.8 crore individual borrowers had active business-oriented loans. Of these borrowers, 43% were early-stage as commercial entities with credit history of less than 24 months, highlighting a borrower segment that is active in business-purpose borrowing while still being relatively new as commercial entities. Almost half (48%) the share of the total Non-Banking Financial Companies’ (NBFCs) Commercial Balances pertained to Individual Borrowers. All other lender categories have a much lower share, with private banks the second largest at 24% of the commercial balance share among individual borrowers.

The individual borrower segment has been increasingly visible across key commercial credit products. Loans against property formed the largest share of outstanding balances for this borrower group, followed by commercial vehicle loans and unsecured business loans. At a product level, individual borrowers accounted for 68% of loan against property balances, 76% of commercial vehicle balances and 67% of unsecured business loan balances. The report notes that loans against property, commercial vehicle loans, unsecured business loans, term loans, overdraft and cash credit together formed ~87% of outstanding commercial credit balances.

Bhavesh Jain, MD & CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, said: “In India’s MSME economy, the entrepreneur and the enterprise are often deeply connected, particularly in the early years of business growth. A proprietor may borrow in an individual capacity, but the credit is frequently linked to business activity, working capital needs or asset creation. This makes individual business borrowing an integral part of how commercial credit is evolving, and it deserves to be understood within the broader MSME credit landscape.

“As MSMEs grow, their credit needs also change, from small-ticket working capital to larger, sector-led funding requirements. The real opportunity for the credit ecosystem lies in understanding this progression with greater clarity, especially as borrowers move from individual business borrowing to entity-level credit, or from trade-led borrowing to manufacturing-led expansion.”

Formal Credit Access Remains a Large Opportunity

The share of new-to-credit (NTC) entities in origination volumes declined from 52% in FY23 to 42% in FY26, indicating that the pace of first-time formal credit onboarding has moderated in recent years.

Chart 2: NTC Opportunity Sizing

NTC originations among commercial entities were concentrated in smaller ticket sizes. The report finds that 60% of these originations were in the ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh ticket-size segment, while 34% were in the ₹10 lakh to ₹2 crore segment. It also notes that 75% of ₹2 lakh to ₹2 crore NTC entity borrowers had prior retail credit experience, showing that first-time entity borrowers may enter formal commercial credit through different borrower pathways.

Emerging Pockets Of Risk in Specific Borrower Segments

While overall commercial credit portfolio performance remained stable as of March 2026, the report indicates elevated delinquency levels in certain borrower and product segments. Delinquency (measured as share of balances in 90+ Days Per Due (DPD) or classified sub-standard) in unsecured business loans to entities stood at 7.2%, up 274 basis points (bps) over three years. The ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh entity borrower segment recorded delinquency of 5.6%, up 111 basis points over the same period.

Signs of stress were also seen in early delinquencies (measured as accounts ever in 90+ DPD in first 12 months since origination) as well, for both unsecured business loans to entities and for the ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh entity borrower segment. For originations in the March 2025 ending quarter, for unsecured business loans to entities, early delinquencies were 2.9 times higher, while for the ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh entity borrower segment, early delinquencies were 2.1 times higher than the overall early delinquency of 3.4% for loans to entities originated in the same period. 

Sectoral Patterns Point to Different MSME Credit Structures

The report shows that commercial credit patterns vary across sectors by exposure size and geography. Textiles, professional services, wholesale trade and infra-linked industries are led by the ₹10 lakh to ₹2 crore exposure segment. Maharashtra and Gujarat the leading states across key industries such as textiles, food processing. The report identifies manufacturing as a sector with strong concentration in industrial clusters.

Trade showed a different pattern, with retail trade anchored in the ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh exposure segment and wholesale trade led by the ₹10 lakh to ₹2 crore segment basis share of entities with live loans. Uttar Pradesh ranked first in both retail and wholesale trade counts, while Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal appeared among the other leading states. In professional services, the report shows a higher share of entities in small exposure segments of ₹10 lakh to ₹2 crore, with Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu among the leading states.

Mr Jain said: “MSMEs remain central to India’s enterprise base, employment creation and regional economic growth. As more small businesses seek formal credit, it is important to recognise the diversity within the MSME segment. A micro enterprise seeking working capital, a trade borrower operating in a local market and a manufacturing unit looking to scale will have different credit needs, business cycles and growth paths. Expanding formal credit access for MSMEs has to go hand in hand with a deeper understanding of these differences. A more granular view across sectors, ticket sizes and geographies can help the ecosystem serve smaller and emerging enterprises while maintaining a focus on sustainable credit growth.”

TransUnion CIBIL and NBSL are two premier institutions that are important to India’s financial and digital payments ecosystem. By embedding the CIBIL Score into the BHIM App, the integration places credit awareness alongside everyday financial activities. This enables consumers to make more informed financial decisions by accessing trusted credit information conveniently and securely in a familiar environment.

The BHIM Payments App is designed to support users in managing their everyday financial needs. Built for Indian users, it supports 15+ Indian languages and offers a simple, easy to navigate interface, making it accessible across urban, rural, and semi urban regions. It already enables users to manage money through features like Split Expenses, Family Mode, Spends Analytics, and Action Needed reminders. With the addition of the CIBIL Score, BHIM takes this a step further by helping users not just transact but also stay informed about their credit profile.

Commenting on the association, Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, said: “Credit awareness and credit inclusion are at the centre of a strong and resilient credit ecosystem. The BHIM Payments App will enable CIBIL Score and Credit Information Report to be easily accessible to its millions of users. As India moves from a largely transactional approach towards credit to a more carefully planned one, this is an important step in our consumer awareness journey. It supports the development of a better informed, empowered and inclusive credit environment, in keeping with our purpose of driving ‘Information for Good’.”

Lalitha Nataraj, MD & CEO, NPCI BHIM Services Ltd, said: “BHIM Payments App has been built with a clear focus on simplicity and user control. Through our collaboration with TransUnion CIBIL, we are extending this approach to credit awareness, enabling users to access their CIBIL Score easily within the BHIM App. This is a step towards helping users make more informed financial decisions as part of their everyday journeys.”

The feature is live on BHIM Payments App version 4.0.19 and above.

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About TransUnion CIBIL

India’s pioneer information and insights company, TransUnion CIBIL, makes trust possible by ensuring each person and business entity is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this by providing an actionable view of consumers and businesses, stewarded with care.

We have developed technology and innovative solutions across core credit, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for millions of people and commercial entities in India.

We serve the financial sector as well as commercial entities and individual consumers. Our customers in India include banks, credit institutions, NBFCs, housing finance companies, microfinance companies, telecom companies and insurance firms.

For more information visit www.transunioncibil.com.

About NPCI BHIM Services Limited:

NPCI BHIM Services Limited (NBSL) was incorporated in 2024, as a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). NBSL aims to enhance the adoption of digital payments through the Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) platform and committed to providing a seamless, secure, and user-friendly payment experience to individuals and businesses across India.

NBSL facilitates quick and efficient digital transactions, offering an accessible and reliable payment solution for all. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, NBSL aims to drive financial inclusion and support India’s journey toward becoming a fully digital economy.

For more information, visit https://www.bhimupi.org.in/.

Mumbai, India, 14 April, 2026: Gold loans have grown rapidly to become India’s second-largest retail credit product by balance share¹. According to TransUnion CIBIL’s Gold Loan Landscape Report, gold loan balances have grown 3.8x since March 2022, with their share in India’s retail credit portfolio rising from 5.9% to 11.1% by December 2025. The growth reflects rising borrower adoption, higher ticket sizes, broader lender participation, and a borrower profile that increasingly includes consumers and women borrowers with more extensive credit histories.

The report shows that growth in the segment has been especially strong among NBFCs, which increased their share of gold loan balances from 7% in March 2022 to 11% in December 2025, and public sector banks which increased from 57% to 62% over the same period. The average gold loan balance per account increased from ₹1.1 lakh in March 2022 to ₹1.9 lakh in December 2025, underlining the rising scale of borrowing in the segment.

Chart 1: Gold Loan Industry Supply (Indexed)*

Note: Quarter ended March ’22 indexed at 100

Supply trends point to a sharp expansion in market activity. Gold loan origination volumes have grown 2.3x since Q1 2022, while origination value has increased 5.1x over the same period. The average ticket size rose from ₹90,000 in Q1 2022 to ₹1.96 lakh in Q4 2025, indicating that the market is not only widening in reach but also moving toward higher-value borrowing.

Borrower profiles are also changing. The share of prime and above prime² borrowers in gold loan originations rose from 43% in 2022 to around 52% in 2025, while New-to-Credit participation declined from 12% to 6%. This suggests that gold loans are becoming more broad-based and diverse in the borrower profiles.

Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, said, “Gold has always held deep financial and cultural relevance in India, but what we are seeing now is a structural shift in how gold-backed borrowing is being used. Gold loans are increasingly becoming a mainstream, organised and accessible form of secured credit. Their rapid growth reflects both lender confidence and rising consumer acceptance.

“What is particularly notable is that the segment is drawing more borrowers with stronger credit profiles, larger ticket sizes and repeat usage. This is an indication that gold loans are no longer being used only for short-term liquidity needs but are becoming part of broader household borrowing behaviour,” he added.

A Broader Borrower Base is Driving Expansion

Women borrowers have emerged as an important growth driver in gold loans’ expansion. Women accounted for 39% of gold loan originations by volume in 2025, up from 36% in 2022, with strong growth visible not only in southern markets but also across western and northern states. The report highlights notable momentum among women borrowers in states such as Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, reflecting the broadening geography of demand.

The report also points to changing borrower leverage patterns. The average outstanding amount per borrower rose from ₹1.9 lakh in December 2022 to ₹3.1 lakh in December 2025, while the number of borrowers with gold loan exposure above ₹2.5 lakh increased to 14% of total borrowers at the end  of 2025, up from 10% in 2022. Borrowers with higher existing balances and greater unsecured exposure have also become more prominent at origination, indicating that gold loans are increasingly sitting alongside other forms of credit in borrower wallets.

Growth Must Be Balanced With Stronger Risk Discipline

The report also highlights the need for sharper borrower-level risk assessment as the segment grows. Based on the study, for gold loans originated in the six months ended June 2025, overall delinquency was 1.1% (delinquency being measured as any trade reported as 60 days past due within six months of origination). Borrowers whose post-origination gold loan outstanding amount exceeded ₹2.5 lakh showed a delinquency incidence of 1.5%, about 2.2x that of borrowers with lower exposure, at 0.7%. In addition, wallet concentration in gold loans, recent delinquency and high dependence on gold loans within the overall borrower wallet are important forward-risk indicators.

The report further notes that borrowers with a history of serious delinquency who subsequently rely on gold loans face a significantly higher risk of disengagement from the formal credit system. Their credit-access closure rate was around 1.6x higher than that of non-defaulting borrowers, suggesting that for a section of stressed borrowers, gold loans may increasingly be functioning as a product of last resort.

Mr. Jain added, “As the gold loan segment expands, lenders’ priority must be to balance growth with prudence. Collateral strength remains important, but it cannot be the sole criterion for evaluating borrowers. Lenders will need to assess total borrower indebtedness, repayment capacity, recent credit behaviour and cross-lender exposure more holistically. Stronger borrower-level loan-to-value checks, risk-based pricing, and closer monitoring of repeat reliance on gold loans will be essential to ensure that this important segment continues to grow in a sustainable and responsible way.”

¹ Housing Loans with 27.8% share by balance as of December 2025 forms the largest retail credit product

² CreditVision® (CV) score ranges are: Subprime 300–680; near prime 681–730; prime 731–770; prime plus 771–790; super prime 791-900

Mumbai, 08 April 2026 – Women borrowers in India now hold a credit portfolio of ₹76 lakh crore, accounting for 26% of total system credit.

According to ‘From Borrowers to Builders: Women and India’s Evolving Credit Market’, a report jointly published by NITI Aayog, TransUnion CIBIL, MicroSave Consulting (MSC), and the Women Entrepreneurship Platform, women’s credit exposure has expanded 4.8x since 2017—signalling a transition from access led inclusion to progression led participation, as more women move into higher value retail and business lending.

Between December 2017 and December 2025, the number of credit active women borrowers grew at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9%. Credit penetration among women has increased from 19% in 2017 to 36% in 2025, with over one in three credit-eligible women now participating in the formal credit system. With nearly 45 crore credit-eligible women in India, the opportunity for further expansion remains significant.

Rapid digitisation across identity, payments, underwriting, and loan servicing is lowering some entry barriers and accelerating women’s transition from informal borrowing to scalable, structured financial pathways.

Current State of Women Borrowers in India’s Credit Market

The total credit portfolio held by women has grown from ₹16 lakh crore in 2017 to ₹76 lakh crore in 2025, representing a CAGR of 20% in value terms.

The report, covering the 2017 to 2025 period, groups women borrowers into three segments: microfinance entrants, retail-purpose borrowers and business-purpose borrowers, reflecting different stages of engagement within the credit ecosystem.

Over this period, the composition of lending has evolved meaningfully. Retail purpose loans continue to dominate, accounting for 71% of the total credit portfolio of women borrowers. However, it is business purpose loans that have registered the highest growth, rising 7.5x since 2017 from 16% to 25% of the total portfolio. Microfinance now accounts for 4%, reflecting slower growth relative to retail and commercial segments, signalling rising entrepreneurial participation among women.

Figure 1: Growth and Composition of Women’s Credit Portfolio (2017–2025)

Ms. Anna Roy, Programme Director, Niti Aayog, and Mission Director WEP, said, “The scale and diversification of women’s participation in formal credit signal a meaningful shift in India’s economic landscape. What is particularly encouraging is not just the increase in access, but the way women are moving across credit segments and engaging more actively with formal financial systems. Sustaining this momentum will require continued focus on strengthening the enabling environment, so that increased participation translates into more resilient enterprises and deeper economic contribution over time.”

Strengthening women’s economic participation requires attention not only to credit supply, but to the conditions that enable consistent and independent digital engagement. When digital systems are responsive to lived realities, they can accelerate graduation across credit segments and support enterprise resilience.This report is significant because it captures both the scale and the structure of women’s credit participation, identifying both measurable gains and structural gaps.

Microfinance: The Foundation and the First Step Toward Scale

Microfinance remains a key entry point into formal credit for women, with 7.3 crore active borrowers. However, the segment is stabilizing as lenders adopt tighter guardrails and declining new-to credit originations. Importantly, nearly 19% of active women borrowers now hold retail or commercial loans, reflecting measurable advancement beyond small-ticket credit.

The geographic concentration of borrowers is also evolving. While southern states such as Tamil Nadu historically accounted for a large share of activity, states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are increasing their share of credit-active borrowers.

Figure 2: Geographic Shift in Women Microfinance Borrowers (2025)

Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD & CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, said, “We are seeing a steady and meaningful evolution in how women are engaging with formal finance in India. Access to credit is no longer limited to participation at the margins. Women are building credit histories, diversifying across retail and business lending, and demonstrating disciplined repayment behaviour. This shift reflects growing financial confidence and a deeper understanding of how structured credit can support personal, household and entrepreneurial aspirations.”

“What is particularly encouraging is the rise in active credit monitoring and responsible credit usage patterns. As more women actively monitor and manage their credit, they strengthen their own financial resilience while contributing to the overall health of the credit ecosystem. The next phase of inclusion will be defined by how women move across products, build scale and deepen their participation in the formal economy.”

Retail Credit: Expanding Participation and Faster Access

Women now account for 27% of overall retail loan originations, up three percentage points since 2022. New-to-credit women borrowers represent 38% of retail originations, with many entering through consumption and gold loan products. Retail lending is increasingly acting as a bridge segment, enabling women to build credit histories and transition toward larger-ticket and asset-based products.

Digitisation has reduced turnaround times in smaller-ticket products. Remarkably, 45% of approvals in consumption categories now occur on the same day highlighting the impact of digitisation in accelerating credit flow.

Women demonstrate responsible credit behaviour, with lower vintage delinquency compared to overall New-To-Credit originations. Younger women are accelerating participation across consumption, gold and vehicle loans, while housing loans continue to remain a significant long-term asset class. Women account for 69% of housing originations when included as co-applicants, up from 63% in 2022.

Borrower profiles vary by product. In consumption loans, 18% of the loan origination comes from women borrowers under 35 years of age. This trend has grown by 3% since 2022. Consumption lending remains more urban-centric with 51% women borrowers taking consumption loans in 2025 originating from metro and urban markets.

Figure 3: Women’s Share in Retail-Purpose Loan Originations

Ms. Sonal Jaitly, Associate Partner and Global Lead, Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion, MicroSave Consulting (MSC), said, “The growth in women’s participation in formal credit reflects a meaningful shift, but it also highlights how varied the digital journeys underpinning this participation can be. Women’s engagement with digital tools spans stages from assisted to independent use, shaping both the depth and continuity of their digital footprint over time. Recognizing these patterns is important for designing credit products and delivery models that strengthen financial visibility and enable women to build on initial access and grow their economic activities.”

Business Lending: Accelerating Participation Across Regions

The most decisive shift in women’s credit participation is visible in business-purpose lending to women which has seen a 7.5x jump since 2017, accounting for 25% of the overall credit portfolio. Over the past three years, women business borrowers have grown at a CAGR of 31%, nearly double the pace of overall commercial credit growth.

Tamil Nadu accounts for 15% of active women business borrowers and Maharashtra for 11%. States such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have recorded higher growth rates, at 59% and 42% CAGR respectively over the last three years, indicating rising entrepreneurial participation in northern markets.

Approval timelines have improved meaningfully. Same-week approvals (0–5 days) in commercial lending have increased from 24% in 2022 to 30% in 2025.

Figure 4: Business Loan Originations by Turnaround Time

Mr. Akhand Jyoti Tiwari, Senior Partner - MicroSave Consulting (MSC), said, “India’s economic transformation is increasingly shaped by the ambitions and resilience of its women entrepreneurs. Across rural and urban markets alike, women are building enterprises that sustain households, strengthen local economies, respond to climate change, and contribute to the country’s broader growth story. Ensuring that these entrepreneurs can access and effectively use formal financial systems is therefore central to building a more inclusive and productive economy.”

As India’s financial system becomes increasingly digital and data-driven, the opportunity ahead is not merely to extend credit more widely, but to design systems that enable sustained economic mobility. Doing so will require continued collaboration between policymakers, financial institutions, and ecosystem actors to ensure that financial markets evolve in ways that support the ambitions of millions of women entrepreneurs.”

Digital Behaviour at the Last Mile: From Access to Visibility

Primary research with select rural women nano-entrepreneurs across Kerala and Madhya Pradesh provides a grounded view of their digital participation. The findings underscore that while digital adoption is widespread, the depth, independence, and continuity of engagement vary significantly across users.

Crucially, this journey is neither uniform nor linear. Each stage, from awareness to advanced usage, generates varying levels of digital footprint, which can directly influence financial visibility and credit assessment outcomes. The report reveals where progression stalls, where risk and trust barriers persist, and where behavioural constraints limit deeper engagement.

The Road Ahead: From Access Metrics to Progression Metrics

With 36% credit penetration among women, nearly two-thirds of credit-eligible women remain outside the formal system. Even among credit-active women, many hold only a single credit product, indicating scope for deeper engagement.

“The opportunity ahead remains significant. Expanding access for first-time borrowers, supporting women entrepreneurs with appropriate credit products and strengthening financial visibility through digital participation will be critical in the coming years. When women are equipped with the right financial tools and trusted with opportunity, the gains extend beyond individual borrowers. Households become more secure, enterprises become more scalable and communities become more economically vibrant. Sustained and responsible inclusion of women in formal finance will continue to play an important role in India’s long-term growth story,” said Mr. Jain

The next phase of financial inclusion will shift from measuring access to tracking progression, including advancement rates, multi-product holding, working capital uptake and enterprise growth. Integrating digital transaction trails into flow-based underwriting models and strengthening last-mile digital capability will be central to enabling women to move up the credit value chain.

Sustained and responsible inclusion of women in formal finance will continue to play a critical role in India’s long-term economic growth.

Mumbai, India, 31 March 2026 – India’s Credit Market Indicator (CMI)¹ rose in the December 2025 quarter both year-over-year (YoY) and quarter-over-quarter (QoQ), supported by strong growth in gold loans amid a sharp increase in global gold prices. However, retail credit supply normalised in the post-festive period, easing from the momentum created by the rationalisation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and returning to end of 2024 levels, indicating a seasonal moderation in short-term demand.

TransUnion CIBIL’s March 2026 Credit Market Report indicates that the Consumer Credit Market Indicator (CMI) increased to 102 for the quarter ended December 2025, up from 97 in the quarter ended December 2024.The December 2025 CMI is also higher by two points from 100 in the preceding quarter of September 2025. The December 2025 quarter CMI marked the third consecutive quarter of improvement.

The CMI is a comprehensive measure of data elements that are summarised monthly to analyse changes in credit market health, categorised under four pillars: demand, supply, consumer behaviour, and performance. These factors are combined into a single, comprehensive CMI indicator, and can also be viewed in more detail individually. A higher CMI reading indicates improving credit market health, whereas a lower reading indicates a decline.

“There is evidence of a shift in retail credit growth dynamics, with momentum extending beyond secured products such as gold loans to rising consumption demand from first-time and younger borrowers. While the post-festive moderation in credit supply reflects seasonal trends, the overall improvement in credit performance reinforces the strength and maturity of India’s credit market,’’ said Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL.

Chart 1: Credit Market Indicator (CMI) Dec 2023 – Dec 2025

Non-metro Geographies, New-to-Credit² Consumers Drive Credit Demand

The CMI for demand increased to 96 in the December 2025 quarter from 92 in the December 2024 quarter, buoyed by strong demand from semi-urban and rural consumers. Their share of the total retail borrower base rose to 54%, an increase of three percentage points over the year-ago period. The share of New-to-Credit consumers also increased by one percentage point to 15% of total borrowers.

During the post-festive period, auto loan volumes improved in line with last year’s levels, primarily supported by increased supply in the affordable mid‑segment car category (INR 5–10 lakh). In the post festive period, the average daily supply grew by 10% in auto loans in 2025, compared to 2024.

Chart 2: CMI for Demand Dec 2023 – Dec 2025

“The continued expansion of credit demand in non-metro and semi-urban markets underscores the structural shift underway in India’s lending landscape. As access to formal credit deepens beyond traditional urban centres, we are seeing a more geographically diversified borrower base emerge. This trend reflects improving credit awareness enhanced distribution by lenders and the growing relevance of tailored products for these segments, all of which are contributing to a more inclusive and balanced credit ecosystem,’’ Mr. Jain said.

Credit Supply Increases on the Back of Gold Loans

The CMI for supply rose to 98 in the December 2025 quarter from 91 in the December 2024 quarter, largely driven by a significant increase in both the volume and value of gold loans. This growth was supported by higher-ticket gold loans availed by consumers seeking to benefit from rising gold prices.

Since March 2023, the average gold loan ticket size has increased by 1.8X times driving a sharp rise in origination value. The indexed growth (indexed to March 2023) in the gold loan average ticket size touched 189 points in the quarter ended December 2025, compared to 132 in the quarter-ended December 2024. The average ticket size for the three months ended December 2025 stands at INR 1.9 lakh. Gold loans now represent the largest share by volume (36%) and value (39%) among all retail loan categories, accounting for more than one third of the total retail loan supply. In terms of outstanding balances, gold loans are now second only to housing loans.

From a geographic and demographic perspective, gold loans are expanding beyond their traditional concentration in southern states and seeing higher growth in northern and western states. For instance, as of December 2025, the three states with above average YoY growth rates in gold loan origination volumes were Uttar Pradesh – 96%, Madhya Pradesh – 80% and Rajasthan – 79%. Additionally, more than half, 54%, are being utilised by prime and above consumers indicating a more diverse credit profile. This trend also highlights the growing acceptance of gold loans as a mainstream retail credit product.

Chart 3: CMI for Supply Dec 2023 – Dec 2025

Consumption-led Credit Revives First-Time Borrower Segment

The first-time-borrowers (FTB)³ segment grew 7% by originating consumers YoY in the December 2025 quarter, supported by strong momentum in consumption-led credit. Within this segment, personal loans recorded a 20% YoY increase, compared to a 3% decline in the quarter ended December 2024. Similarly, consumer durable loans grew 22% YoY, reversing an 11% decline in the year-ago period.

Additionally, borrowers below 35 years old increased by 17% YoY in the December 2025 quarter, compared to a 3% decrease in the December 2024 quarter. This group now constitutes 58% of the FTB segment, and is a key contributor towards its overall growth.

CMI for Performance Increases by Six Points

Improved balance level 90+ days past due (DPD) delinquencies across key product segments led to the CMI for performance increasing by six points to 107 in December 2025, from 101 in December 2024. The micro-loan against property (LAP) segment was the only category to exhibit some stress, with balance-level 90+ DPD delinquency increasing by 35 basis points YoY to 3.1% in December 2025. Despite this increase, delinquency levels have remained broadly stable and range‑bound since the previous quarter.

“India’s retail credit landscape continues to demonstrate resilience and structural depth, supported by a healthy balance between consumption-led demand and improving credit performance. Higher origination volumes in home, auto, and consumer durable loans point to a steady shift toward asset-backed borrowing. Concurrently, rising average loan sizes and a growing share of prime and above borrowers indicate sustained lender focus towards credit tested profiles. This reflects evolving borrower preferences as well as lenders’ ability to adapt to changing credit requirements.

“At the same time, rising participation from first-time borrowers, younger consumers, and non-metro geographies points to a broader formalisation of credit and increasing financial inclusion. As the ecosystem matures, maintaining a strong focus on credit discipline and risk management will remain critical to ensure sustainable long-term growth,’’ said Mr. Jain.

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1. The TransUnion CIBIL Credit Market Indicator (CMI) is an evolving model which is regularly reviewed to ensure the most relevant variables and their relative weighting are selected to best chart the credit health of India’s lending market. When selecting certain variables, year-over-year movements are analysed to remove the effects of seasonality. The CMI is not a stationary index; hence the level in itself is not indicative of credit health. The CMI number needs to be looked at in relation to the previous period(s) and not in isolation. A lower CMI number compared to the prior period represents a decline in relative credit health, while a higher number reflects an improvement.

2. NTC (New-to-Credit) Consumers refers to those consumers who do not have a score as of beginning of the month of the loan origination for a given calendar month. An increase in NTC% indicates higher financial inclusion.

3. FTB (First-time-Borrower) refers to consumers who have taken their first ever retail credit product in that particular month or quarter

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Disclaimer: This Information above is based on the TransUnion CIBIL Credit Market Indicator Report of December 2025. TransUnion CIBIL does not guarantee the adequacy or completeness of the information and/or its suitability for any specific purpose. TransUnion CIBIL shall not be responsible for any reliance on the Information. The reader should carry out all the necessary analysis that is prudent in their opinion before making any decisions.

Mumbai, India, 18 March 2026: India is entering a new phase of active and informed credit ownership as credit monitoring becomes increasingly embedded in everyday financial behaviour. What was once largely a reactive, one-time, loan-related activity is now evolving into a regular consumer-led practice and a core part of financial hygiene, according to TransUnion CIBIL’s latest report, CIBIL for Every Indian – Uncovering How India Owned Its Credit Journey in 2025. The report highlights a fundamental shift in India’s credit behaviour from passive awareness to active ownership. Credit monitoring is no longer merely an enabler for borrowing; it has become a tool for self-awareness, discipline, and empowerment.

As of December 2025, the number of Indians who had self-monitored their CIBIL Score rose to 183 million across age groups, following a 27% year-over-year (YoY) increase in consumers monitoring their credit for the first time. This momentum signals a progressively widespread adoption of credit awareness as a core financial habit.

The impact of consumers regularly self-monitoring their CIBIL Score is evident in outcomes. Nearly 45% of monitoring consumers improved their credit score within six months of monitoring. The average CIBIL Score among monitoring consumers stood at 728[1], pointing to a strong alignment between active monitoring and healthier credit profiles. The transformation of credit monitoring from sporadic activity to financial habit has led to enhanced financial outcomes for consumers, with younger borrowers such as Millennials and Gen Z[2], women, and non-metro regions leading the movement.

Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, said: “Historically, many consumers interacted with their credit profile only when they needed a product such as a personal loan or a credit card. Today, monitoring is not related merely to a single transaction but is embraced as ongoing financial hygiene. Consumer focus has shifted from a transactional approach towards an asset to build a strong, sustainable credit profile. In effect, India is moving from simply taking credit to truly taking charge. Monitoring is the behaviour that anchors this change, turning the CIBIL Score from a static number into a live indicator of financial health that consumers actively track and improve.”

Non-Metro Regions: India’s Growth Frontier

India’s credit awareness movement is now increasingly shaped by non-metro regions. As of December 2025, around 75% of all monitoring consumers were from non-metro locations, representing a 28% YoY growth in this segment. The trend of rapidly expanding credit awareness beyond major urban centres extends to first-time borrowers, with 78% of New-to-Credit consumers coming from these markets. Non-metros also lead in credit quality, with 73% of prime score (731+) consumers also residing there.

This combination of high participation and strong credit profiles positions non-metros as a key driver in India’s evolving credit landscape. With access barriers diminishing, awareness is becoming a more equitable force for financial opportunity. Non-metros are not just participating; they are leading in both the number of monitoring consumers and the quality of credit profiles.

Gen Z: India’s First Credit-Native Generation

Unlike previous generations who often encountered credit scores later in life, younger borrowers such as Millennials and Gen Z are engaging with financial tools at the outset of their financial journeys. These younger borrowers together account for 77% of all monitoring consumers, reflecting a generation that is more comfortable with data, digital journeys, and self-service tools.

Gen Z is emerging as India’s first truly credit-native generation, demonstrating an inherent understanding and proactive engagement with their financial profiles. Their 1.41x growth in credit monitoring activity significantly outpaced other demographics. As of December 2025, Gen Z consumers constituted 29% of the total monitoring base. This early adoption suggests a generation that is not just experimenting with credit but actively seeking to understand and manage it responsibly from the start.

Gen Z consumers’ proactive monitoring habits are translating into distinct shifts in their borrowing patterns. Post-monitoring, this generation exhibits a strategic approach to credit products. Among self-monitoring Gen Z consumers, gold loan originations rose by 61% YoY, while two-wheeler loans by them in semi-urban and rural areas saw a 23% YoY rise.

This generation is setting a new standard for credit engagement, demonstrating that early awareness coupled with strategic product choices can lead to a more responsible and empowered financial future.

Women: India’s New Credit Vanguard

Women are driving significant shifts in India’s financial landscape. As of December 2025, their engagement with credit monitoring grew at an accelerated pace with a 38% YoY growth in women monitoring their credit scores, compared to a 25% YoY increase among men.

Women now form 21% of all monitoring consumers, up from 19% previously. The growth is particularly strong in non-metro regions which account for 71% of newly self-monitoring women consumers. A substantial 63% of monitoring women maintain a Prime score (731+), underscoring their strong credit health and responsible financial behaviour. These figures collectively position women as a powerful and growing force in India’s credit evolution.

Women are not just accessing credit; their post-monitoring approach shows how their borrowing patterns align with their financial goals and demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of different credit instruments. Gold loan originations grew by 38% among self-monitoring women, signalling a strong preference for secured, flexible credit.

These encouraging trends not only serve women’s individual financial well-being, they are also collectively shaping a more inclusive, robust, and mature credit future for India.

Credit Monitoring as a Movement

Credit monitoring sets off a simple loop of awareness resulting in action followed by visible advantage. Monitoring doesn’t just reflect behaviour; it helps reshape it.

Trends seen among self-monitoring Indians confirm the popularity of gold loans, and their move from being an emergency fallback to becoming a mainstream credit lever. Gold loan originations grew by 25% within three months of monitoring, with a 2x rise in disbursal to Gen Z consumers, and a 26% growth in gold loans to consumers in semi-urban and rural areas.

Similarly, two-wheeler loan originations saw 6% YoY growth within three months of monitoring, including a 23% rise among Gen Z borrowers in smaller towns. Among monitoring consumers, 17% opened a consumption loan within three months of monitoring.

At the heart of this shift is a deeper change in how Indian consumers are engaging with credit. Monitoring is giving them greater visibility into their financial standing and helping them engage with formal credit with more awareness and intent. As this behaviour becomes more widespread, the millions of small, informed decisions along with cumulative and consistent action are adding up over time to shape a more resilient, inclusive, and mature credit ecosystem in India.

Mr. Jain said, “Credit monitoring is now firmly a mass behaviour. Millions of Indians routinely check their CIBIL Score and Report. This practice is no longer confined to affluent urban centres. Non-metro India is redefining the contours of inclusion, leading both credit adoption and quality.

“Gen Z and Millennials, India’s first credit-native generations, are engaging with credit data early and systematically, and women are stepping into more visible and informed roles in borrowing and credit management. Together, these segments are driving this new credit culture and anchoring a more disciplined, data-driven approach to credit,” he added.

“At TransUnion CIBIL, we are proud of the part we play in ensuring responsible access to credit for every eligible consumer and business. India has seen a quiet but decisive shift in credit behaviour over the last few years towards active, informed credit management. We will continue to support sustainable credit growth and contribute to deepening financial inclusion across segments and geographies,” Mr. Jain concluded.

[1] CIBIL Score ranges from 300-900. Score tiers are: Subprime = 300-680, Near Prime = 681-730, Prime = 731-770, Prime Plus = 771-790, and Super Prime = 791-900

[2] Generations are defined as follows: Gen Z are consumers born between the years 1997 and 2012. Millennials are consumers born between the years 1981 and 1996.

The integration of the CIBIL Score and related features on the YONO app places credit awareness at the centre of everyday banking, enabling consumers to make more informed financial decisions through easy access to credit insights.

Launched in December 2025, YONO’s updated version is State Bank of India’s integrated digital banking all-in-one super app that brings banking, shopping, insurance, investment, bookings and everyday services onto a single interface. It works seamlessly across devices offering a personalised experience and spending analytics to help customers meet a wide range of financial and lifestyle needs through a secure, smart and intuitive digital experience.

The collaboration between TransUnion CIBIL and SBI brings together two institutions that play a vital role in India’s financial ecosystem. By embedding access to the CIBIL Score and other features within one of the country’s most widely used digital banking platforms – trusted and used by millions of active customers – the initiative underscores TransUnion CIBIL’s efforts to boost consumer awareness and empowerment. The integration keeps consumer ease and convenience at its core, thereby improving transparency, encouraging responsible credit behaviour, and giving consumers a secure and familiar way to access their credit information.

Commenting on the partnership, Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, said: “A strong and resilient credit ecosystem is built on transparency, timely access to information and responsible credit behaviour. Our integration into State Bank of India’s YONO app is focused on making credit awareness simple, accessible, and part of everyday banking. By empowering its customers to check and track their CIBIL Score and Report, we are helping consumers take greater ownership of their credit health. When credit information is available within a trusted banking platform, it becomes a practical tool for learning, planning, and making better financial decisions. This integration is an important step towards strengthening financial literacy and credit awareness at scale, and it supports the development of a more informed, inclusive, and sustainable credit ecosystem in India, in keeping with our purpose of driving ‘Information for Good’.”

Rajeev Ranjan Prasad, CGM – Digital Banking and Transformation – Consumer, State Bank of India, said, “As digital banking continues to expand across India, building trust, transparency, and financial awareness remains a key priority. Through its collaboration with TransUnion CIBIL, YONO makes credit information more accessible and easier to understand, empowering customers with greater visibility into their credit health. By integrating CIBIL score access within the YONO platform, SBI enables customers to make more informed credit and borrowing decisions, supporting a transparent, responsible, and resilient credit ecosystem in the country."

Through this collaboration, TransUnion CIBIL continues to strengthen access to trusted credit information by embedding the CIBIL Score into everyday banking journeys. The integration supports informed financial decision-making, encourages responsible credit behaviour through easy and convenient monitoring, and leverages SBI’s comprehensive digital-first approach through YONO, contributing to a more informed and inclusive credit ecosystem in India.

·       83% of credit concentrated across eight products with commercial loans accounting for the largest share at 30%.

·       Portfolio growth reflects increasing retail and small-business activity, with asset-quality metrics showing improvement.

Mumbai, India, 13 February 2026 – Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) are strengthening their position in India’s credit ecosystem, supported by steady balance growth, improving asset quality, and rising demand across both retail and small business segments.

Outstanding credit balances of UCBs stood at ₹3.4 lakh crore as of September 2025, representing a 1.9x increase over the last five years, according to Sahakaar Trends, a joint publication by the National Urban Co-operative Finance and Development Corporation (NUCFDC) and TransUnion CIBIL, India’s pioneer information and insights company.

While UCBs continue to hold a modest share of overall industry credit at around 1.8%, the data shows a system that is expanding in scale while adapting to changing borrower profiles, competitive dynamics, and regulatory expectations.

“UCBs are expanding more widely into Bharat, extending formal credit beyond large urban centres to households and small businesses in semi-urban and emerging regions. Their proximity to local communities allows them to serve borrowers where local context and relationships matter, helping bring more of Bharat into the formal credit system. As these banks expand their reach across retail and small-business lending, sustaining credit quality while broadening access will remain central to their role in supporting more balanced and inclusive economic participation,” said Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL.

“The expanding credit footprint of UCBs reflects strong borrower trust, particularly in semi-urban and emerging regions where access to formal credit remains critical. As these banks scale up, the focus must remain on strengthening institutional capacity, improving operational efficiency, and building resilient governance frameworks. Supporting UCBs through this transition is essential to ensuring that their growth continues to translate into meaningful financial participation and long-term economic stability,” said Shri Prabhat Chaturvedi, CEO, NUCFDC.

UCB Lending Remains Concentrated in Eight Core Products

Commercial loans, housing loans, retail business loans, loan against property, gold loans, personal loans, auto loans and loans against bank deposits dominate UCB balance sheets. As of September 2025, these products together accounted for nearly 83% of UCBs’ total outstanding balances, reflecting a continued emphasis on collateral-backed retail lending and credit to small enterprises.

The average housing loan ticket sizes for UCBs stood at around ₹23 lakh, compared to ₹26 lakh for housing finance companies. For gold loans, the average ticket size is ₹1.3 lakh for UCBs, compared to ₹2.3 lakh for PSU banks. In contrast, average commercial loan ticket sizes for UCBs were approximately ₹50 lakh, higher than ₹37 lakh for Public Sector Banks (PSUs), while personal loan ticket sizes averaged about ₹4.7 lakh, compared to ₹2 lakh for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).

Table 1: Growth and Share of Balances of Key Products in UCBs (Five-Year Trend)

*All Commercial fund-based loans (working capital -term loan) with entity with total exposure of 100 Cr is considered.

Gold Loans Present Growth Opportunity for UCBs

Gold loans account for about 5% of UCBs’ overall credit portfolio. Although they cater to a relatively higher share of below-prime borrowers in this segment compared with PSU banks, credit performance indicators have improved, with the balance-level delinquencies, measured as balances 90 days past due or more, declining steadily in recent periods.

Commercial Loans Account for Largest Share of UCBs’ Portfolio

Commercial loans account for the largest share of the total outstanding balances for UCBs, as of September 2025. Indexed to September 2020 as 100, enquiry-level data shows a sharper rise in commercial loan demand for UCBs by September 2025.

While UCBs recorded a higher conversion rate from enquiry to origination compared with PSU banks during the three months ended June 2025, the pace of disbursement remains slower, with 45% of originations disbursed within 15 days, compared with 61% for PSU banks. UCBs also cater to a higher share of entities with credit exposure exceeding ₹1 crore and also have a higher share of low-risk borrowers at 49% compared to 45% medium-risk borrowers and 6% high-risk borrowers¹.

Chart 1: Commercial Loan Demand Index: UCBs vs PSU Banks

Housing Loan Demand Higher in Metro and Semi-Urban Regions

Housing loans constitute the second largest share of total outstanding balances for UCBs. Demand for housing loans has remained stable with UCBs recording 2x growth in the last five years attracting younger consumers, women, and New-to-Credit borrowers. Additionally, the growth has also been greater in urban and semi-urban regions.

The credit performance for housing loans has improved, with 90+ DPD balance-level delinquencies falling to 2.8% as of September 2025, from 3.2% in September 2024.

Customer Profile of Personal Loan Borrowers Has Improved for UCBs

Personal loan demand at UCBs has strengthened in recent periods. UCBs recorded higher conversion rates for personal loan enquiries at 39%, compared to 22% for NBFCs during the three months ended August 2025, although only 42% of these loans were disbursed within five days, compared with 68% for NBFCs. Additionally, the balance-level delinquencies for personal loans have steadily improved for UCBs and have been consistent for recent periods. The personal loan delinquencies (90+ DPD) declined from about 4.5% in September 2020 to approximately 2.1% by September 2025. 

Opportunity Exists for UCBs to Expand Credit Reach

The data also points to a gap in portfolio deepening. As of March 2025, UCBs had approximately 30 lakh live retail borrowers, of which around 1.7 lakh, or about 6%, also had a commercial credit footprint. During April to September 2025, nearly 3,000 such borrowers sourced new commercial loans from PSU banks, with total sanctioned amounts of about ₹724 crore, including approximately ₹442 crore extended to low- and medium-risk borrowers.

Chart 2: Retail Borrowers with Commercial Loans Taken from PSU Banks

Overall, the sustained growth of UCBs reflects a sector that is strengthening its balance sheets while accelerating efforts to modernise its operations and risk frameworks. Backed by improving asset quality, disciplined credit expansion, and rising adoption of technology‑enabled processes, UCBs are increasingly well positioned to serve their core constituencies with greater efficiency and resilience.

“As UCBs continue to balance their community-rooted strengths with data‑led decisioning and regulatory alignment, they are set to play an increasingly meaningful role in supporting inclusive economic growth and deepening formal credit penetration across India’s urban and semi‑urban landscape,” Mr. Jain said.

Ends

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1. Low Risk is CMR 1-3, Medium Risk is CMR 4-7, High Risk is CMR 8-10. CMR stands for CIBIL Commercial Rank

• The Goods and Services Tax (GST) rationalisation and the festive season boosted retail credit demand, particularly for consumer durable, auto and two-wheeler loans
• Younger borrowers and new-to-credit consumers (NTC) expanded their share, particularly in semi-urban and rural regions
• Early delinquencies emerging in micro-loans against property (LAP) and small-ticket housing loans, which calls for proactive monitoring of these portfolios

Mumbai, India, 15 December 2025 – The Goods and Services Tax (GST) rationalisation in September 2025, just before India’s festive season, seems to have helped boost the retail credit market. With improved affordability, retail borrowers sought more credit. As a result, the Credit Market Indicator (CMI)1 rose to 99 for July to September 2025, up from 98 in April to June 2025, according to TransUnion CIBIL’s December 2025 Credit Market Report.

The CMI is a comprehensive measure of data elements that are summarized monthly to analyse changes in credit market health, categorized under four pillars of demand, supply, consumer behaviour and performance. These factors are combined into a single, comprehensive CMI Indicator, and pillars can also be viewed in more detail individually. A higher CMI reading indicates improving credit market health, while a lower reading indicates a decline.

Chart 1: Credit Market Indicator (CMI) Sept 2023 – Sept 2025

The rationalisation of GST (known as GST 2.0) appears to have contributed significantly to increased credit demand from retail consumers, which reflects a strong alignment between policy reforms and consumer behaviour, underscoring the resilience of India’s retail credit ecosystem. As lenders respond to this momentum, maintaining a balance between credit expansion and responsible lending will be critical to sustaining long-term financial health.

“GST 2.0 was a much-needed step to stimulate economic growth, and its positive impact is evident in the improvement of consumer sentiment and the upward trend in credit demand. While fostering and sustaining this credit demand is crucial, it is equally important to promote responsible borrowing practices. Lenders must engage with consumers at multiple touchpoints to ensure financial discipline and sustainability to support healthy growth of credit in India,’’ said Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL.

Revival in Credit Demand Led by GST 2.0 and Festive Season  

Increased retail loan demand signalled renewed consumer confidence and market optimism. This improvement was particularly evident in segments such as vehicle finance (two-wheeler loans and auto loans) and consumer durables, which showed robust incremental year-over-year (YoY) growth during the pre-festive period (post-GST 2.0 implementation). This led to an increase in CMI for demand to 95 in the quarter ending September 2025, compared to 93 in the quarter ending September 2024.

Chart 2: CMI Demand September 2023 – September 2025

While the CMI covers the period July to September 2025, TransUnion CIBIL has additionally analysed demand trends for October 2025 to capture the early impact of GST 2.0 and the festive season on consumer credit behaviour. It compared the festive period demand in 2024 and 2025 and GST impact in 2025 for consumer durable loans, two-wheeler loans and auto loans. The indexed growth trends (indexed to 100 for the January to June period of each year) indicate that the daily average demand indexed growth in consumer durable loans increased to 189 in 2025, from 128 in 2024. Similarly, the demand growth in two-wheeler loans increased to 272 in 2025 from 249 in 2024, and the demand growth in auto loans increased to 133 in 2025 from 115 in 2024.

Credit Supply Driven by Secured Assets, Semi-Urban and Rural Regions

The CMI for supply increased to 97 during the third quarter of 2025, compared to 91 in the same quarter of 2024, primarily driven by consumption loans (except credit cards) and gold loans.

Credit supply of secured assets such as home loans, auto loans and consumer durable loans showed positive momentum in the September 2025 quarter, despite experiencing a decline last year.

Graph 1: Origination Volumes by Product Type

Semi-urban and rural regions continued to outperform metro and urban areas in both credit demand and supply, a trend that was witnessed in the previous quarter as well. The share of semi-urban and rural consumers in overall credit supply remained higher at 61% during the quarter ended September 2025.   

“For lenders, this presents an opportunity to focus on pockets where supply is strong while simultaneously analysing regions showing muted growth to identify underlying challenges. Leveraging granular data and insights will be key to aligning strategies with evolving consumer needs and ensuring balanced credit expansion,’’ Mr. Jain said.

Emerging Geographies Seeing Higher Credit Growth from New-to-Credit and Younger Borrowers

The YoY rate of growth among new-to-credit borrowers increased by 5% in the September 2025 quarter after declining 14% YoY last year in the same period, reaffirming the turnaround. However, this was lower than the high YoY growth rate of 17% noted in the September 2022 quarter.

The rate of growth among consumers younger than 35 years increased from 3% YoY in the September 2024 quarter to 12% YoY for the same period in 2025. The growth rate of younger borrowers in semi-urban and rural areas increased from 7% YoY to 15% YoY, while in metro and urban areas it increased to 8% YoY after falling by 3% YoY last year.

“The resurgence in new-to-credit borrowers, coupled with the sharp increase in younger consumer participation — particularly in semi-urban and rural regions — signals a shift in lenders’ focus towards these segments. Lenders must capitalize on these emerging segments by designing targeted lifecycle strategies to ensure they support borrowers’ evolving financial needs. This approach will be critical to sustaining growth and fostering responsible credit behaviour,” Mr. Jain said.

Overall Asset Quality Remains Stable with Signs of Stress in Certain Loan Segments

Balance-level delinquencies² remained stable for key product segments, with the CMI for performance increasing to 105 for the quarter ending September 2025, compared to 100 for the quarter ending September 2024. This marginal increase in CMI for performance indicates an overall stable or improving delinquency picture among consumers. However, product-level performance reveals stress in certain segments—particularly in micro-loan against property and small-ticket housing—which merit closer attention.

While property loans’ performance improved with balance-level 90+days delinquencies at 1.4%, improving by 29 basis points YoY, early signs of stress were noted in the micro-loans against property (LAP) segment³, where delinquency increased 45 basis points YoY, reaching 3.3% as of September 2025. In the micro-LAP segment early delinquencies measured as 90+ days past due reported in 12 months on book rose 29 bps YoY to 2.2% for originations in the quarter ended September 2024, which is higher than the overall LAP early delinquencies at 1.6%. In small-ticket housing loans⁴, early delinquencies rose 19 bps YoY to 0.8% for originations in the quarter ended September 2024, which is higher than overall housing loan early delinquencies at 0.5%.

“While overall asset quality remains stable, recent trends indicate emerging stress in specific loan segments such as micro-LAP and small-ticket housing loans. As a facilitator of credit inclusion, TransUnion CIBIL is committed to equipping lenders with actionable insights and advanced analytics to navigate these challenges. Our solutions enable lenders to identify early warning signals, assess risk effectively, and engage borrowers responsibly. By leveraging these capabilities, lenders can mitigate stress, maintain portfolio health, and continue fostering a robust and inclusive credit ecosystem,” Mr. Jain added.

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1. The TransUnion CIBIL Credit Market Indicator (CMI) is an evolving model which is regularly reviewed to ensure the most relevant variables and their relative weighting are selected to best chart the credit health of India’s lending market. When selecting certain variables, year-on-year movements are analysed to remove the effects of seasonality. The CMI is not a stationary index; hence the level in itself is not indicative of credit health. The CMI number needs to be looked at in relation to the previous period(s) and not in isolation. A lower CMI number compared to the prior period represents a decline in relative credit health, while a higher number reflects an improvement.

2. Delinquency rates are measured as percentage of balances in 90 to 719 days past due respectively for home loan, property loan; and 90 to 179 days past due respectively for other products.

3. Micro-LAP is defined as property loans with ticket size between INR 2L-10L.

4. Small ticket housing is defined as home loan with ticket size between INR 2L-25L

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Disclaimer: This Information above is based on the TransUnion CIBIL Credit Market Indicator Report of September 2025. TransUnion CIBIL does not guarantee the adequacy or completeness of the information and/or its suitability for any specific purpose. TransUnion CIBIL shall not be responsible for any reliance on the Information. The reader should carry out all the necessary analysis that is prudent in their opinion before making any decisions.

Mumbai, India, 25 November 2025 – TransUnion CIBIL, India’s leading credit information company, in collaboration with India Post, has unveiled a customized ‘My Stamp’ to commemorate TransUnion CIBIL’s 25-year milestone. The special postage stamp marks its journey of building trust, enabling responsible credit access, and driving financial inclusion across India’s credit ecosystem. The unveiling ceremony, held in Mumbai, was graced by Smt. Suchita Joshi, Postmaster General, Navi Mumbai Region, India Post, as the Chief Guest.

Speaking at the launch, Smt. Suchita Joshi said: “Every postage stamp tells a story. It reflects the people and institutions that shape India’s journey. TransUnion CIBIL is celebrating its 25-years journey by launching this special stamp, created by India Post. The stamp is an embodiment of TransUnion CIBIL’s remarkable contribution to building trust and expanding access to credit across the country. Over the years, TransUnion CIBIL has empowered individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses to achieve their goals and contribute to India’s growth.”

“Its efforts have supported financial progress at every level, aiding grassroots growth and contributing to the national economy,” she said. “The stamp’s design represents progress, inclusion, and the spirit of empowerment that defines both TransUnion CIBIL and India Post. India Post is proud to honor this milestone and to celebrate an organization that continues to strengthen the nation’s financial foundation while helping millions move closer to their dreams.”

The stamp design beautifully captures TransUnion CIBIL’s enduring role in fostering financial inclusion and building a foundation of trust across the nation.

Each element in the design represents a unique aspect of India’s growth story, and highlights the role of TransUnion CIBIL as a trusted partner. The car and home icons embody the dreams and aspirations of individuals, while the sewing machine and factory icons symbolize the empowerment of entrepreneurs and small business owners. The CIBIL meter at the center of the stamp is a powerful emblem of trust, responsible credit behavior, and financial credibility.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Bhavesh Jain, Managing Director and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, said: “This special edition stamp marks a proud milestone for all of us at TransUnion CIBIL. Over the past 25 years we have worked closely with credit institutions, regulators, and consumers to build a robust credit ecosystem.”

“More than a celebration, this stamp honors the millions of stories we’ve helped shape over 25 years. It represents our ongoing commitment to make credit simpler, fairer, and more accessible for all. As we look ahead, our focus remains on driving innovation, deepening financial participation, and enabling credit as a force for progress in every corner of India,” he said.

Mumbai, October 15, 2025: TransUnion CIBIL, India’s pioneer information and insights company, was the Credit Insights partner of the Global Fintech Fest 2025 (GFF) held from October 7–9, 2025 at the Jio World Centre, Mumbai. Across the three-day event, TransUnion CIBIL highlighted its newest innovations, presented insights from its industry reports and showcased multiple solutions designed to enhance access to credit for individuals, MSMEs and rural borrowers.

Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL joined Mr. Shaji K V, Chairman of NABARD, for a fireside chat on ‘Unlocking Rural Potential’, highlighting how smart financial infrastructure can empower India’s villages. Mr. Jain also served on the jury of the prestigious and eagerly awaited Global Fintech Awards 2025. Mr. David Finch, Global Managing Director, Fintech, TransUnion, contributed to a panel on global financial infrastructure, titled ‘The Next Bretton Moment: Can Public Infrastructure Rewrite the Rules of Global Finance?’. Mr. V. Anantharaman, Chairman, TransUnion CIBIL chaired the Fintech Investors’ Roundtable for Fintech CEOs and founders further strengthening industry connections.  While addressing the gathering at the roundtable, Mr. Anantharaman said: “As India’s credit and fintech ecosystems continue to expand, there is a strong need to foster continuous innovation, collaboration, and data integrity. The growth seen across retail and commercial credit segments, coupled with fintech’s increasing participation in business lending, signals a maturing market driven by new possibilities. To sustain this momentum responsibly, it is essential that all ecosystem participants work together to leverage data and technology in ways that enhance trust, inclusion, and long-term financial health. At TransUnion CIBIL, we are committed to enabling this progress through reliable insights and collaborative industry engagement.”

Commenting on the event, Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD & CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, said, “GFF 2025 brought the entire finance and digital ecosystem together on one stage, enabling space for direct conversations with policymakers, investors, regulators and innovators. It allowed us to show how credit insights are central to trust in the financial system and how access to credit is expanding opportunities for individuals and businesses. For TransUnion CIBIL, GFF was a forum to present solutions, to listen closely to the industry and to take back learnings that will shape the way forward. The exchanges at the event reinforced the importance of responsible growth and the need to build financial systems that are inclusive and resilient.”

In addition to leading industry dialogues, TransUnion CIBIL continued to drive consumer education and awareness of credit and credit scores. Visitors to its booth were greeted by ‘MyCIBIL’, a friendly personification of the CIBIL Score, which distributed discount codes for subscription plans for consumers. The company also showcased ‘CIBIL Ki Kahaniyan’, an illustrated comic book designed to build financial awareness in a simple and engaging format. The comic book features the beloved Tinkle character Suppandi alongside two new characters: Simran, his finance-savvy friend, and the mascot, MyCIBIL. It uses humor and storytelling to demystify credit concepts, explain the role of a credit bureau and highlight how responsible credit behavior affects CIBIL Scores. The company also presented ‘CIBIL Saksham’ that offers comprehensive learning resources on credit and risk management, designed to help individuals and corporate teams deepen their understanding of credit management.

The Global Fintech Fest is the world’s largest fintech festival, bringing together banks, Non-Banking Financial Corporations, fintechs, technology companies and a variety of stakeholders from across the spectrum of financial technology. Since its inception in 2020, GFF has evolved into a global platform where fintech leaders, policymakers, and innovators converge to shape the future of finance and consistently set new benchmarks in driving dialogue, collaboration, and action within the fintech ecosystem.

This year’s event was graced by the presence of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, and the Prime Minister of the UK, the Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer, underscoring the forum’s significance as a platform for advancing financial inclusion and innovation.

Through its participation at GFF 2025, TransUnion CIBIL reinforced its role as a trusted partner in India’s financial ecosystem where it enables greater transparency, strengths access to credit and fosters innovation to meet the evolving needs of individuals, businesses, and communities.

Mumbai, India, 7^th October, 2025 – TransUnion CIBIL, India’s leading credit information company, is now featuring in a documentary produced by Edstead and streaming on JioHotstar that explores the architecture of India’s financial ecosystem and the evolution of credit access. The documentary is part of Season 2 of the "Bharat Fintech Story", an Edstead series that traces the evolution of India’s financial services landscape. The new season will be available until March 2026.

The documentary chronicles TransUnion CIBIL’s 25-year journey in supporting India’s credit landscape, financial inclusion, and enabling credit access for millions. It is a story of transformation — of how data, trust, and vision came together to empower a nation.

Since its establishment in the year 2000, TransUnion CIBIL has been the pioneer credit information bureau for the nation. With significant products such as the CIBIL Score and the CIBIL Rank, the organization has and continues to play a key role in making credit access more transparent, inclusive, and data driven. Each number tells a story of a dream realized, a business launched, a life changed.

What began as a response to address information asymmetry in lending has evolved into a robust credit infrastructure supporting over 700+ million individuals and 36+ million commercial enterprises.

Speaking about the documentary, Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD & CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, said: “This film captures the essence of our 25-year journey, how we have supported shape India’s credit ecosystem by enabling transparent, data-driven lending and empowering individuals and businesses alike. A credit score is more than a number, it reflects trust, opportunity, and progress. TransUnion CIBIL is excited to be recognized in the Bharat Fintech Story, as it opens up new opportunities to share how we continue driving financial inclusion, MSME growth, and women’s credit participation across the country.”

The episode blends data and human stories, spotlighting retail borrowers, entrepreneurs, and new borrowers. It brings to life the impact of financial inclusion and the growing role of credit awareness across India and evocatively captures how the positive ripple effects of responsible credit are felt far and wide, from bustling metros to remote villages.

Mr. V. Anantharaman, Chairman, TransUnion CIBIL, said: “This documentary is not just about the history of credit, it is about the future opportunity. Our journey has been about enabling trust through financial behavior, not socio-economic background. That impact is visible across the nation, including rural and small towns, and among millions of responsible borrowers.”

As the story unfolds, the film reinforces a powerful message for Indian consumers: creditworthiness is defined by credit behavior and not bias. It is a powerful reminder of how data, when used responsibly, can unlock opportunity and financial confidence for millions.

Watch the TransUnion CIBIL documentary, an Edstead series streaming on JioHotstar here: https://www.hotstar.com/in/shows/bharat-fintech-story/1271326767/cibil/1271461791/watch

Mumbai, India, 24 September 2025 – India’s retail credit market saw a cyclical shift marked by contrasting trends in consumer demand and portfolio performance during the quarter ended June 2025. While credit demand from younger consumers (aged 18–35) declined during the quarter, semi-urban and rural regions continued to demonstrate resilience, with demand rising in these geographies.

According to TransUnion CIBIL’s September 2025 Credit Market Report, the growth in loan originations  for younger consumers slowed to 6% in the quarter under study, compared to 9% in the same period last year. This slowdown was cushioned to some extent by a robust 9% YoY growth in loan origination volumes from rural and semi-urban regions, reflecting stable consumption patterns outside metro areas.

These trends contributed to a lower Credit Market Indicator (CMI)¹ of 98 for the first quarter of the 2025-26 financial year in comparison with same period for the previous financial year. The CMI is a comprehensive measure of data elements that are summarized monthly to analyse changes in credit market health, categorized under four pillars: demand, supply, consumer behaviour, and performance. These factors are combined into a single, comprehensive CMI indicator, and pillars can also be viewed in more detail individually. A higher CMI reading indicates improving credit market health, while a lower reading indicates a decline.

Chart 1: Credit Market Indicator (CMI) June 2022 – June 2025

“India’s credit landscape is evolving with resilience in semi-urban and rural demand, a strategic shift toward secured lending, and stable portfolio performance. These trends signal a maturing market focused on sustainable and inclusive growth,” said Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD & CEO, TransUnion CIBIL.

Retail Credit Demand Impacted by Tapered Demand from Younger Consumers

The slowdown in demand from younger consumers led to the CMI for demand falling to 92 for the quarter ended June 2025, down from 95 the same time last year.

The share of demand from young consumers (age 18-35 years) as a percentage of total demand fell to 56% in the June 2025 quarter, compared to 58% in same period a year ago. Demand is measured as enquiry volumes.

Personal loans, consumer durable loans and gold loans remained popular among this age group, while credit cards saw a YoY decline. The overall decline in supply was especially visible in metro and urban geographies, where the share of young consumers in loan originations has decreased by 3% over the last two years. Supply is measured as originations by lenders.

Chart 2: CMI Demand June 2022 – June 2025

Younger consumers often start their credit journey with products that offer convenience, like personal loans, consumer durable loans, or credit cards. As they progress through life stages, there tends to be a natural shift toward secured, long-term credit options that better suit their evolving needs.

“The recent dip in credit demand from this segment may reflect a more cautious mindset. While this may be temporary, it is a reminder of how important it is to equip young borrowers with the right tools and support to help them grow confidently along their credit journey,” said Mr. Jain.

Semi-Urban and Rural Regions Continued to Demonstrate Growth

In comparison, semi-urban and rural geographies continued to show robust growth, with a 9% YoY increase in originations for the quarter ended June 2025, indicating deepening credit penetration and resilience in non-metro consumption. The most significant originations growth, by 15% YoY, was in personal loans – a greater growth rate than those seen for other leading products in these geographies such as gold loans (7% YoY) and consumer durable loans (9% YoY).

Lenders have an opportunity to tap into resilient pockets of growth, particularly in semi-urban and rural regions, where credit demand continues to hold strong. By tailoring products and outreach to these markets, and by nurturing responsible credit behavior among younger consumers, lenders can drive inclusive and sustainable growth.

Retail Credit Growth Remains Flat Across Most Products

The CMI for credit supply remained unchanged at 93 for the quarter ended June 2025. Origination volumes growth was flat for key products, except personal loans, which saw 12% YoY growth, and gold loans, which saw 8% YoY growth.

Home loan origination volumes also grew, by 2% YoY, compared to a 3% YoY decline for the same period a year ago. In value terms, home loan originations increased by 6% YoY in the quarter ended June 2025, marginally higher than the 5% YoY in the quarter ended June 2024.

For two-wheeler loans, origination volumes fell by 1% YoY in the quarter ended June 2025, in contrast to a 15% YoY growth in the same period a year ago, while in value terms two-wheeler originations saw a slower growth of 3% YoY compared to a growth of 21% YoY in the same period a year ago.

Chart 3: CMI Supply June 2022 – June 2025

Similar to credit demand, the share of semi-urban and rural consumers in loan originations also saw a marginal one percentage point YoY increase to 61% for the quarter ending June 2025.

In its June 2025 monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), announced a 50 basis point (bps) cut in the repo rate—higher than market expectations. As the repo rate serves as the benchmark for banks and financial institutions to set their lending rates, this reduction translates into lower interest rates on both retail and commercial loans. Furthermore, the central government’s decision to streamline GST slabs to 5% and 18%, for most commodities, down from the previous ranges of 5% to 40%, will reduce the cost of a wide array of commodities—from essential goods to vehicles.

The recent rate cuts combined with the reduction in Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates and increased demand due to the upcoming festive season, are expected to boost consumer spending and stimulate lending momentum.

Lenders Tilt Towards Secured Lending as Risk Appetite Evolves

Portfolio balances grew at a slower pace of 18% YoY in the quarter ended June 2025, compared to 25% YoY a year ago. While this deceleration was visible across all product segments, it was more pronounced for unsecured products such as personal loans (8% YoY), consumer durable loans (8% YoY) and credit cards (12% YoY).

As a result of slower growth in unsecured products, the credit active consumer base saw a slower growth of 9% YoY during the quarter ended June 2025, compared to 15% YoY in the quarter ended June 2024. This has led to the CMI for consumer behaviour declining to 94 in the quarter ended June 2025, compared to 111 for the same period last year.

The outstanding balances of secured products continued to grow by double digits, although all at a slower pace than in the same quarter a year ago, with the most significant growth being for loans against property, which increased by 23% YoY, and gold loans, which increased by 26% YoY.

Table 1: Outstanding Balances YoY Growth

As portfolio growth moderates, the strategic pivot towards secured lending, highlighted by the robust performance of loans against property, reflects a conscious effort by lenders to drive credit expansion while managing risk. This signals a maturing credit environment where sustainability and stability are prioritized over volume growth.

Stable Portfolios with Pockets of Stress Requiring Focused Oversight

Overall retail credit balance-level delinquencies across higher-balance products remained stable, indicating sound portfolio health. This led to the CMI for performance improving to 104 in the quarter ending ended June 2025, compared to 101 in the quarter ending ended June 2024.

Among consumption products, personal loans continue to demonstrate YoY improvement in 90+ days past due (DPD) performance. Credit card delinquencies rose 19 basis points (bps) YoY although they have remained range-bound over the past four quarters, suggesting relative stability despite the slight uptick.

Certain other loan segments, too, have seen a rise in 90+ DPD delinquencies. These include two-wheeler loans (up 20 bps YoY), unsecured business loans (up 42 bps YoY), and commercial vehicle loans (up 50 bps YoY). Together they account for 6% of the industry portfolio.

“Proactive portfolio monitoring in certain segments such as two-wheeler loans, unsecured business loans and commercial vehicle loans along with strengthening risk frameworks, is essential for inclusive growth,” said Mr. Jain.

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1. The TransUnion CIBIL Credit Market Indicator (CMI) is an evolving model which is regularly reviewed to ensure the most relevant variables and their relative weighting are selected to best chart the credit health of India’s lending market. When selecting certain variables, year-on-year movements are analysed to remove the effects of seasonality. The CMI is not a stationary index; hence the level in itself is not indicative of credit health. The CMI number needs to be looked at in relation to the previous period(s) and not in isolation. A lower CMI number compared to the prior period represents a decline in relative credit health, while a higher number reflects an improvement.

2. Delinquency rates are measured as percentage of balances in 90 to 719 days past due respectively for home loan, property loan; 90 to 359 days past due for commercial vehicle loan; and 90 to 179 days past due respectively for other products. Excludes Asset Reconstruction Companies.

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Disclaimer: This Information above is based on the TransUnion CIBIL Credit Market Indicator Report of June 2025. TransUnion CIBIL does not guarantee the adequacy or completeness of the information and/or its suitability for any specific purpose. TransUnion CIBIL shall not be responsible for any reliance on the Information. The reader should carry out all the necessary analysis that is prudent in their opinion before making any decisions.

About TransUnion CIBIL

India’s pioneer information and insights company, TransUnion CIBIL, makes trust possible by ensuring each person and business entity is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this by providing an actionable view of consumers and businesses, stewarded with care.

We have developed technology and innovative solutions across core credit, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for millions of people and MSMEs in India.

We serve the financial sector as well as MSMEs and individual consumers. Our customers in India include banks, credit institutions, NBFCs, housing finance companies, microfinance companies, telecom companies and insurance firms.

For more information visit www.transunioncibil.com

• TransUnion CIBIL marks its 25^th anniversary with a storytelling-led brand and consumer outreach campaign
• Partners with Amar Chitra Katha to launch a special edition, ‘CIBIL Ki Kahaniyan’ (‘Stories of CIBIL’), using Tinkle’s iconic character Suppandi to explain credit concepts in a fun, engaging way
• Rolls out print, radio and digital campaign to reinforce the role of a credit bureau and credit score in enabling financial inclusion
• In these 25 years, TransUnion CIBIL has connected with over 7,000 institutions, enabling better-informed lending decisions. As of July 2025, 164 million consumers have self-monitored their CIBIL Score and Report.

Mumbai, India, 21^st August, 2025: TransUnion CIBIL, India’s pioneering insights and information company, is celebrating 25 years of building trust in India’s credit ecosystem with a storytelling-led brand and consumer outreach campaign.  

At the heart of its silver jubilee celebration is ‘CIBIL Ki Kahaniyan’, a special edition of the legendary Tinkle comic book created in collaboration with the Amar Chitra Katha stable, known to generations of Indians for its rich cultural legacy and widespread popularity. It features the beloved Tinkle character Suppandi, alongside two new characters Simran, his finance-savvy friend, and MyCIBIL a friendly personification of the CIBIL Score. The comic uses humour and storytelling to demystify credit concepts, explain the role of a credit bureau and highlight how responsible credit behaviour impacts the CIBIL Score.

Together, the trio takes readers on a light-hearted and informative journey through the world of credit. By appealing to adults who grew up with Suppandi and to younger readers starting their financial journeys, it makes learning about credit awareness both accessible and entertaining. Read the special ‘CIBIL Ki Kahaniyan’ edition with Suppandi and his friends here: https://www.cibil.com/content/dam/cibil/web-resources/pdf/comic.pdf?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=ack-campaign&utm_campaign=ack.

In parallel, TransUnion CIBIL has launched a campaign across print and social media, and will engage in a multi-city radio campaign. With the tagline, ‘Sahi CIBIL Score, Badhaaye Khushi Ka Score’ (“The right CIBIL Score can increase your happiness quotient”), the campaign reframes the credit score from a technical number into a personal enabler of dreams, whether it’s owning a home, starting a business, or funding education. The campaign underscores how credit confidence is integral to modern aspirations.

Blending nostalgia, cultural familiarity, and financial literacy, the initiatives bring credit awareness and the importance of the CIBIL Score into everyday life through engaging, relatable narratives.

Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD & CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, said: “This milestone is not merely a reflection of time, it is a testament to the trust we’ve earned and the impact we’ve made. For 25 years, TransUnion CIBIL has played a foundational role in supporting India’s credit ecosystem. These campaign initiatives are designed to show how credit has enabled progress and been a catalyst for transformation. We are proud to have contributed to India’s financial journey and remain deeply committed to advancing inclusive and responsible credit access.”

“Behind every CIBIL Score is a story of dreams pursued, of resilience, and of progress. We hope that the stories we share through these campaign partnerships will inspire more people to learn about credit scores and responsible credit behaviours. Our focus remains on deepening our impact by helping communities across India access the opportunities they deserve. We are grateful to be part of this journey and remain committed to building a more inclusive and resilient credit ecosystem for all,” said Jain.

Mr. V. Anantharaman, Chairman, TransUnion CIBIL, said: “Over the past 25 years, TransUnion CIBIL has stood for trust, transparency, and financial empowerment. Our journey reflects the strength of the partnerships we have built. We have worked closely with regulators, lenders, and ecosystem players, and each step has reinforced our role in shaping India’s credit environment. We remain committed to making it inclusive as we continue to lead with information and insights, and stay focused on building a system that is ready for the future.”

Ms. Gayathri Chandrasekaran, Editor-in-Chief of Tinkle, says, “Suppandi’s simplicity and comic timing make him one of India's most loved comic characters, appealing to children and adults alike. Who better than him to demystify the world of credit scores and credit ratings? We also created two mascots, Simran and MyCIBIL, who along with Suppandi, promote credit literacy via comics. Our motto at Tinkle is ‘Where Learning Meets Fun’, and Amar Chitra Katha is very happy to have partnered with TransUnion CIBIL to make credit awareness and empowerment accessible to all. The process of creating ‘CIBIL Ki Kahaniyan’ was very interesting for us, and I’m happy to say our team has started checking their CIBIL score regularly!”

In the last 25 years of TransUnion CIBIL’s operations in India, it has connected with over 7,000 institutions, enabling better-informed lending decisions. As of July 2025, 164 million consumers have self-monitored their CIBIL Score and Report.

In India, over the last couple of decades, more than 700 million individuals have gained access to formal credit, transforming households across the country. Over 36 million commercial entities have been similarly empowered, with over 85 million active microfinance borrowers. Over the past decade, 118 million women have entered the formal credit system, unlocking greater financial independence. Credit adoption among younger and first-time borrowers has accelerated, driven by targeted outreach and data-driven onboarding.

About TransUnion CIBIL:

India’s pioneer information and insights company, TransUnion CIBIL, makes trust possible by ensuring each person and business entity is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this by providing an actionable view of consumers and businesses, stewarded with care.

We have developed technology and innovative solutions across core credit, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good® and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for millions of people and MSMEs in India.

We serve the financial sector as well as MSMEs and individual consumers. Our customers in India include banks, credit institutions, NBFCs, housing finance companies, microfinance companies, telecom companies and insurance firms.

For more information visit www.transunioncibil.com

About Amar Chitra Katha:

Amar Chitra Katha, founded in 1967 by Anant Pai, is India's largest and one of India's oldest comic book companies, with a library of over 600 titles in 20 languages covering mythology, history, fables, folklore and classical Indian literature. Selling over 5 million copies annually, it has expanded digitally, reaching a global audience through the ACK Comics App, Kindle, and platforms like Alexa, Audible and YouTube. Having collaborated with over 500 brands, it continues to introduce new titles and adapt its iconic art style for new generations of readers worldwide.

• Credit Conference 2025 designed to drive growth, financial inclusion, and ease of doing business in India
• Leaders from banking, FinTech, and policy convened to discuss data-driven credit inclusion and the path to a credit-ready India
• Expanding creditworthiness to support India’s financial goals under the Bharat@2047 vision was a key theme

Mumbai, India, 3^rd July 2025: As India’s credit growth reaches new segments and geographies, the focus is shifting towards enabling access to financial services supported by data-driven insights, transparency, and informed risk management. This transformation, along with collaborating to extend financial inclusion in India, saw industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators convene at the TransUnion CIBIL Credit Conference 2025 to explore how data, trust, and collaboration in the financial ecosystem are reshaping the way India lends, borrows, and builds resilience.

From veteran bankers and fintech pioneers to policy architects and development finance experts, the event spotlighted voices shaping the future of India’s credit lending ecosystem. Underpinning the conference was a celebration of the growth of India’s credit landscape over the last 25 years, during which TransUnion CIBIL has played a pivotal role in this evolution through data, scale, and reach.

Some of the most impactful outcomes of India’s evolving credit landscape include:

• Over 714 million individuals have gained access to formal credit, positively impacting households across the country, over the past two decades
• 1,036 million consumer loans have been facilitated, including 52 million housing loans and six million education loans, in the last 25 years
• 118 million women consumers in the last 10 years have entered the credit mainstream for the first time, unlocking opportunities that were previously unavailable to them
• 34 million MSME loans have been disbursed in the past 25 years, powering the growth of India’s future
• Since 2004, more than 3,172 million credit reports issued by TransUnion CIBIL have helped more than 4,000+ financial institutions make better-informed lending decisions
• Retail delinquencies (balance-level, at 90 days or more past due) have improved by 130 bps in the last 10 years

Speaking at the conference, Mr. M. Rajeshwar Rao, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, said, “Credit reporting and TransUnion CIBIL have grown together in India and the company has made a significant contribution in expanding the footprint of credit reporting in the country. Credit reporting systems today operate as a key element in the national financial architecture, encouraging greater credit access, supporting financial inclusion, enabling effective supervision, and enhancing financial stability. This silver jubilee therefore also represents a significant milestone in TransUnion CIBIL’s ongoing contribution to strengthening this framework. This also gives us an occasion to reflect on how the information gap between the credit institutions and the borrowers has been addressed over time and the possible way ahead.”

Additionally, the Deputy Governor said, “At the heart of a sustainable credit landscape lies an empowered consumer which is enabled when we have a financially aware and literate customer. While regulations mandate transparency and awareness, the responsibility needs to be fulfilled by all of us. Financial literacy cannot be achieved through a one-time campaign; it has to be a sustained commitment for all the institutions and entities involved. The setting up of Credit Information Companies was in one sense the starting point of this journey of financial inclusion and democratisation of credit. Even as the journey continues, the role of the CICs remains integral and important in realizing the vision of total financial Inclusion.”

Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD & CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, said, “India’s credit ecosystem is becoming more inclusive, transparent, and future-ready. Reliable data empowers lenders to take strategically informed decisions which in turn supports borrowers in building and strengthening their financial profiles. Our focus remains to enable all stakeholders to navigate this transformation responsibly and sustainably.”

Mr. Deepak Parekh, Former Chairman, HDFC Limited, said, “One needs to position the role of a credit bureau as one that protects the customer, works for the customer, and helps prevent the customer from getting into financial difficulties. The credit score is like a medical report—and based on the report, one is diagnosed, if required. It is true when experts say that the credit score is the mirror of one’s credit behaviour. Checking it regularly is like monitoring blood pressure or cholesterol levels—a preventive financial health measure we must all adopt. Trust, and only trust, remains the most critical aspect of financial services. Customer centricity is the only differentiator among credit bureaus.”

Mr. Amitabh Chaudhry, MD & CEO, Axis Bank, said, "We must invest in financial literacy, helping borrowers understand credit health and long-term financial planning. This is not just a regulatory obligation, it is a moral imperative if we want to build a Viksit Bharat. Banks, bureaus, fintechs, and regulators must work together to harvest alternate data, build smarter risk tools, and create credit systems that say 'yes' more often, responsibly, creatively, and at the speed of India’s aspirations."

Mr. K V Kamath, Chairman, Jio Financial Services Limited, said, "As India moves from a $4 trillion to an $8 trillion economy, the task ahead won’t just double, it will expand exponentially. With a rapidly growing aspirational class and the rise of new technologies like AI, the demand for trusted, curated data will become even more critical. This marks the beginning of a new chapter for TransUnion CIBIL, one that’s closely tied to India’s next wave of growth,”

The CIBIL Score continues to play a key role in how creditworthiness is evaluated by banks, NBFCs, and FinTechs. To enhance market transparency, at the conference TransUnion CIBIL shared deeper insights from the latest Credit Market Indicator (CMI) Report, an essential resource for lenders, economists, and policymakers to monitor credit trends in retail lending. 

The conference devoted special attention to one of India’s key drivers for growth, the MSME sector. An MSME Day special edition of the MSME Pulse Report was shared, giving in-depth insights on credit participation and sectoral performance. The recently launched CreditVision® CIBIL Commercial Rank (CV CMR), complementary to the  Company Credit Report (CCR), was also introduced. These tools help assess credit behavior across enterprises, improving underwriting accuracy and deepening access to finance for MSMEs.

The conference concluded with a shared vision for building a financially confident and credit-aware India. Speakers emphasized the need to strengthen creditworthiness across a broader borrower base through improved data access, financial literacy, and ecosystem-wide collaboration.

“As India progresses towards the goals outlined in Bharat@2047, expanding the credit-ready population, especially in semi-urban and rural regions, will be instrumental in unlocking economic growth,” said Jain. “By enabling lenders to better assess risk and empowering individuals and small businesses to build and improve their credit profiles, TransUnion CIBIL’s insights continue to play a catalytic role in putting more capital in the hands of individuals and small businesses. A more inclusive credit ecosystem is not only vital for economic progress, but also foundational to a future where opportunity reaches every corner of the country.”

The conference commenced with the traditional lighting of the diya, symbolizing knowledge, progress, and a shared commitment to inclusive financial growth. The ceremony was led by Chris Cartwright, CEO, TransUnion; Venkataramanan Anantharaman, Chairman, TransUnion CIBIL; Ketaki Bhagwati, Independent Director, TransUnion CIBIL; Sanjay Prasad, Independent Director, TransUnion CIBIL; Todd Skinner, President – International, TransUnion; and N.S. Kannan, Independent Director, in the presence of industry leaders and stakeholders.

About TransUnion CIBIL

India’s pioneer information and insights company, TransUnion CIBIL, makes trust possible by ensuring each person and business entity is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this by providing an actionable view of consumers and businesses, stewarded with care.

We have developed technology and innovative solutions across core credit, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for millions of people and MSMEs in India.

We serve the financial sector as well as MSMEs and individual consumers. Our customers in India include banks, credit institutions, NBFCs, housing finance companies, microfinance companies, telecom companies and insurance firms.

For more information visit www.transunioncibil.com

Mumbai, India, 23 June 2025 – India’s retail credit market continued to see a softening in the last quarter of the 2024–25 financial year as new loan originations (partly a measure of credit demand and partly a measure of supply) grew at a slower rate of 5% year-over-year (YoY) in March 2025, compared to 12% in March 2024. This and other factors pushed the Credit Market Indicator¹ (CMI) to a two-year low of 97, according to TransUnion CIBIL’s June 2025 Credit Market Report. A higher CMI reading indicates improving credit market health, while a lower reading indicates a decline.

Chart 1: Credit Market Indicator (CMI) March 2022-March 2025

The muted demand was more pronounced among consumers 35 years old or younger. Consequently, the share of New-to-Credit (NTC) consumers that lenders supplied decreased by three percentage points during the same period, given that a large share of younger consumers constitute the NTC segment. However, signs of improving credit performance emerged, particularly through consistent month-over-month declines in credit card delinquencies from January to March 2025.

“The slowing down of credit demand, especially among younger borrowers, is reflected in the easing in demand for consumption loans, which is typically the choice of products for younger borrowers. At the same time, a stabilization in delinquencies for personal loans and credit cards, while still an emerging trend, is positive and reflects improved repayment behavior, supported by continued financial literacy efforts and responsible lending practices,” said Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL.

Shift in Borrower Profile in Demand

The CMI for demand, reflecting consumers applying for new credit, continued to show a downward trend, falling to 92 in March 2025, from 95 in March 2024.

Chart 2: CMI Demand

The slowing of credit demand from younger consumers was evident from the fall in the share of enquiries from those aged 35 years or younger to 56% for the quarter ending March 2025, down from 58% in the quarter ending March 2024.

Chart 3: Enquiry Volumes by Consumer Age (3M Ended Period)

Credit demand in rural and semi-urban areas seemed to have weathered the demand moderation better. Enquiry volumes in rural areas and semi-urban areas increased to 52% for the quarter ending March 2025, from 49% for the quarter ending March 2024. In contrast, enquiry volumes in urban areas and metro areas dipped to 48% for the quarter ending March 2025, down from 51% for the quarter ending March 2024.

Chart 4: Enquiry Volumes by City Tier (3M Ended Period)

"Interestingly, while there's a slowdown in credit growth in urban and metro regions, rural and semi-urban areas are emerging as resilient growth engines. The increase in the share of enquiries in these regions suggests that financial inclusion efforts are beginning to bear fruit. This shift is not just geographic — it’s behavioral. The challenge now is to align credit products with the nuanced needs of these emerging segments,” said Mr. Jain.

Marginal Increase in Credit Supply with a Shift Towards Higher-Ticket Loans

The CMI for supply, which reflects the level and product mix of consumers opening new credit accounts, increased marginally to 93 during the quarter ending March 2025 from 92 in the quarter ending March 2024. This growth in supply has come with a shift towards high-end underlying assets for home loan and two-wheeler loan categories as seen from the increase in high-value loans for these categories. Also, across all other loan products, with the exception of personal loans, the growth in volume was lower than the growth in value, which indicates a preference for higher value loans.

Table 1: YoY Growth in Originations (3M Ended March 2025)

*Average new loan ticket size

The increases in the share of high-ticket home and two-wheeler loans indicates a preference among lenders for loans backed with high-value assets. Home loans above Rs 1 crore grew 9% year-over-year (YoY) during the quarter ending March 2025, compared to a negative growth of -7% YoY for the entire home loan segment during the quarter. Similarly, two-wheeler loans above Rs 1.5 lakh grew 7% YoY during the quarter ending March 2025, compared to a negative growth of -1% YoY during the quarter.

Slower growth in personal and consumer durable loans impacts NTC consumers since these are often the products of choice for those foraying into the formal credit ecosystem for the first time. Consequently, the share of originations by NTC consumers dropped by three percentage points to 16% during this quarter.

“A decline in the pace at which NTC consumers are granted access to the financial system is concerning, as a healthy share of these borrowers is essential for continued efforts of deepening financial inclusion when large sections of our population remain outside the formal credit system. Ensuring high credit quality through robust assessment of borrowers’ eligibility and creditworthiness is critical — not just for portfolio health, but for building long-term trust in the credit ecosystem. As lending rates may correct following repo rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India, we are likely to see improvement in credit supply for the home loan segment in particular,’’ Mr. Jain said.

Delinquencies Improved Across Key Product Segments

Balance-level delinquencies² improved for consumption-led credit products on a quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) basis, indicating the easing of stress levels in these loan segments. The 90+ days past due balance level delinquency rate for credit cards stabilized at 2.00% as of March 2025, against 2.04% as of December 2024 and 2.02% as of September 2024, marking the first QoQ improvement in the past four quarters. Similarly, the delinquency rate for personal loans was at 1.14% as of March 2025, against 1.34% as of December 2024 and 1.37% as of September 2024.

Chart 5: Balance-level 90+DPD

“The improvement in delinquency rates collectively suggest stronger borrower profiles, reflecting improved consumer financial discipline and lender risk management,” Mr. Jain said.

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1. The TransUnion CIBIL Credit Market Indicator (CMI) is an evolving model which is regularly reviewed to ensure the most relevant variables and their relative weighting are selected to best chart the credit health of India’s lending market. When selecting certain variables, year-on-year movements are analysed to remove the effects of seasonality. The CMI is not a stationary index; hence the level in itself is not indicative of credit health. The CMI number needs to be looked at in relation to the previous period(s) and not in isolation. A lower CMI number compared to the prior period represents a decline in relative credit health, while a higher number reflects an improvement.

2. Delinquency rates are measured as percentage of balances in 90 to 719 days past due respectively for home loan, property loan; and 90 to 179 days past due respectively for personal loan, consumer durable loans, credit cards, auto loan and two-wheeler loan. It excludes Asset Reconstruction Companies.

________________________________________________________________________________

Disclaimer: This Information above is based on the TransUnion CIBIL Credit Market Indicator Report of March 2025. TransUnion CIBIL does not guarantee the adequacy or completeness of the information and/or its suitability for any specific purpose. TransUnion CIBIL shall not be responsible for any reliance on the Information. The reader should carry out all the necessary analysis that is prudent in their opinion before making any decisions.

About TransUnion CIBIL

India’s pioneer information and insights company, TransUnion CIBIL, makes trust possible by ensuring each person and business entity is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this by providing an actionable view of consumers and businesses, stewarded with care.

We have developed technology and innovative solutions across core credit, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for millions of people and MSMEs in India.

We serve the financial sector as well as MSMEs and individual consumers. Our customers in India include banks, credit institutions, NBFCs, housing finance companies, microfinance companies, telecom companies and insurance firms.

For more information visit www.transunioncibil.com

Mumbai, June 20, 2025 – To further support banks and credit institutions in driving robust credit growth in India’s commercial businesses category, TransUnion CIBIL, India’s leading information and insights company, has launched CreditVision® CIBIL Commercial Rank (CV CMR) ­­ — a next-generation credit risk assessment model. This enhanced model helps lenders make sharper, more responsible decisions across the commercial lending ecosystem. CV CMR brings greater precision, wider borrower coverage, and deeper insights into credit behavior, ultimately enhancing the commercial lending process.

As a trusted partner in the journey to grow businesses in a sustainable and viable manner, TransUnion CIBIL has long supported credit institutions with data insights, products, and solutions. One of its analytical innovations that transformed commercial credit risk assessment is the CMR, launched in 2017, with approximately 60% of all commercial loan originations in the industry backed by CMR at present. Over the past eight years, this solution has played a pivotal role in helping credit institutions assess and manage credit risk with greater objectivity and precision and help more businesses achieve their financial goals.

In response to evolving borrower behavior and shifting market dynamics, TransUnion CIBIL has launched CV CMR, which is built on the trusted CreditVision® framework, enabling smarter, more strategic lending. The original CMR model has already demonstrated strong traction, with a majority of lenders using it to support informed credit decisions. Building on this growing adoption and proven impact, CV CMR delivers enhanced capabilities that offer deeper insights and expanded coverage. Its effectiveness is reinforced by key performance metrics:

·       Robust model stability: >90% of borrowers remain in the same or within ±1 rank notch over the next three months, enabling consistent onboarding decisions

·       Superior risk differentiation: Bad rates range from 0.9% to 98.3% across CMR-1 to CMR-10, with an even distribution of borrowers across ranks

·       Wider sourcing funnel: CV CMR allows lenders to access an additional ~5%-7% of better ranked borrowers (CMR-1 to 3) at the inquiry stage, expanding the potential approval funnel. CV CMR also expands the rank eligible base by approximately 12%, enabling access to previously unranked businesses and unlocking new lending opportunities

Developed using TransUnion CIBIL’s proprietary CreditVision® algorithms, CV CMR is tailored to reflect the nuances of India’s evolving commercial lending sector. It increases the observation period from 24 to 36 months, giving lenders a more comprehensive view of borrower performance. This leads to better-informed lending decisions and stronger risk differentiation across borrower types and loan products.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Bhavesh Jain, Managing Director and CEO of TransUnion CIBIL, said, “India’s MSME sector is a significant driver of economic growth, contributing to employment, innovation, and regional development. With over seven crore MSMEs, the momentum in commercial lending is undeniable. We are witnessing healthy credit demand and stable portfolio performance, particularly as MSMEs continue to seek funds for working capital, expansion, and resilience. Providing MSMEs with clearer and more accurate credit insights is essential for driving sustainable financial inclusion. Businesses with active exposure up to ₹50 crores fall under the ambit of CV CMR. CV CMR equips lenders with the ability to make quicker, more informed decisions, streamlining the overall lending process to commercial businesses. In doing so, it contributes to fostering a self-reliant and inclusive economy, where deserving businesses can access the capital necessary for growth and long-term economic prosperity."

Mr. Rajiv Sabharwal, MD & CEO of Tata Capital Limited said: “We are happy to see that TransUnion CIBIL has enhanced its flagship CMR to incorporate recent changes in market dynamics with the launch of CV CMR (Credit Vision - CIBIL Commercial Rank). By using an increased observation window and more recent data to develop the Rank, the risk differentiation in CV CMR is expected to be sharper and therefore the Rank will be more robust. I wish TransUnion CIBIL the very best in its endeavor as it has always been the pioneer in effective solutions which have helped financial institutions make the right credit decisions and managing risk robustly.”

Mr. Ravinder Singh, MD, SVC Co-operative Bank said: “TransUnion CIBIL’s CMR has helped us greatly in streamlining our credit assessment process and in making credit available to the deserving businesses at a faster and cheaper rate. With the enhanced version i.e. Credit Vision CIBIL Commercial Rank (CV CMR), which considers longer credit vintage, we are confident that we will be able to further widen our credit reach to the underserved and unserved population of small businesses.”

Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, CEO of Ambit Finvest said: “CMR has helped bring more structure to small business lending across our branches. With a clear, consistent risk rank available, our credit officers are able to apply standardized credit frameworks more confidently. This has improved speed of assessment, reduced subjectivity, and helped us manage credit quality more optimally  across regions. The enhanced CV CMR will likely help us streamline these processes even further with improved model accuracy and broader data coverage.”

The CV CMR model segments borrowers based on credit behavior and industry best practices, allowing for more efficient and tailored decision-making. Additionally, CV CMR supports digital lending journeys by improving approval ratios, leading to faster and more accurate credit decisions. The 10-scale rank of CV CMR (CMR-1 to CMR-10) is based on the observed empirical 90+ days past due default rates. CMR-1 is the best possible rank and carries the least default rate as opposed to CMR-10 which has the highest default rate — the higher the default rate, the riskier the credit profile. CV CMR classifies borrowers based on these fundamentals, and at present the portfolio credit quality suggests that 73% of ranked commercial borrowers belong to the lender-preferred rank scale.

Presently, there are 94 lakh active commercial borrowers, a 1.5X increase since 2020. This progress has been aided by initiatives like Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY), Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE), Government e-Marketplace (GeM), Trade Receivables electronic Discounting System (TReDs), Open Credit Enablement Network (OCEN), and Open Network for Digital Commerce  (ONDC), creating a fertile ground for commercial lending and reinforcing the value of tools like CV CMR in advancing prudent credit expansion.

About TransUnion CIBIL

India’s pioneer information and insights company, TransUnion CIBIL, makes trust possible by ensuring each person and business entity is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this by providing an actionable view of consumers and businesses, stewarded with care.

We have developed technology and innovative solutions across core credit, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for millions of people and businesses in India.

We serve the financial sector as well as end consumers – both retail and non-retail. Our customers in India include banks, NBFCs, housing finance companies, microfinance institutions, co-operative banks, regional rural banks and insurance companies.

For more information visit www.transunioncibil.com

This collaboration will empower MFIs with data-driven insights, tools, and training to enhance their credit assessment and monitoring capabilities, ultimately promoting financial inclusion and responsible lending.

The initiative will also include multilingual digital content and community-driven outreach to ensure accessibility across regions. By enabling MFIs to better educate and guide their clients, the program seeks to promote responsible credit behavior and expand financial inclusion in underserved markets.

Sa-Dhan, headquartered in Delhi, is a network of more than 230 members, including MFIs, NBFCs and banks in India. Through this collaboration, TransUnion CIBIL and Sa-Dhan will co-create joint regional workshops, state-level events, and focused training modules to help MFIs and their teams better understand the role of credit scores, leverage data for underwriting, and build more resilient credit ecosystems.

Mr. Bhavesh Jain, Managing Director and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, said: “Credit literacy goes beyond borrowing — it’s about building trust and credibility in today’s financial ecosystem. With over 13 crore individuals having accessed their CIBIL report and score as of December 2024, we are seeing a growing wave of credit-aware consumers. Our partnership with Sa-Dhan is a step toward empowering MFIs and their customers to take control of their financial futures through better credit understanding.”

Mr. Jiji Mammen, Executive Director and CEO, Sa-Dhan, added: “Promoting credit education at the community level is essential for meaningful and sustainable financial inclusion. When individuals understand the role of credit and its utility in accessing or improving livelihood opportunities, they become more confident and capable participants in the formal economy. This partnership will deliver that knowledge directly to where it’s needed most.”

With this initiative, TransUnion CIBIL and Sa-Dhan are advancing their shared mission to build a stronger, data-driven microfinance ecosystem, equipping institutions and individuals alike to make more informed, confident financial decisions.

About TransUnion CIBIL

India’s pioneer information and insights company, TransUnion CIBIL, makes trust possible by ensuring each person and business entity is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this by providing an actionable view of consumers and businesses, stewarded with care.

We have developed technology and innovative solutions across core credit, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for millions of people and MSMEs in India.

 We serve the financial sector as well as MSMEs and individual consumers. Our customers in India include banks, credit institutions, NBFCs, housing finance companies, microfinance companies, telecom companies and insurance firms.

For more information visit www.transunioncibil.com

Mumbai, India, 29 May 2025: India’s FinTech lending sector is undergoing a transformation, driven not just by volume, but by a fundamental shift in borrower demographics, as they increasingly serve younger and more rural populations. This marks a significant evolution in the FinTech customer base, reflecting the sector’s growing role in democratizing access to credit across India’s diverse population.

According to the TransUnion CIBIL FinTech Compass report for the quarter ending December 2024, FinTech lenders now serve over 23.3 million consumers – up from 20.2 million in December 2023 and 14.4 million in December 2022. Outstanding balances reached Rs 1.3 trillion, with FinTechs accounting for 1.03% of total retail credit balances, highlighting FinTech lenders’ expanding role in India’s credit ecosystem.  Retail credit refers to all loans extended to individual borrowers and includes personal loan, business loan, consumer loan, loan against property and others².

These trends highlight a significant opportunity for FinTech lenders to deepen their reach in underserved segments, positioning them well for sustained growth in India’s evolving credit landscape.

Bhavesh Jain, MD & CEO, TransUnion CIBIL, said: “The FinTech lending sector has played a vital role in reshaping India’s financial landscape by delivering faster and more accessible credit through innovative digital technology. This progress has expanded financial inclusion, reaching millions across diverse demographics and geographies. As the sector continues to evolve, sustained growth will rely on broadening product offerings and adopting data-driven approaches to provide more personalized financial solutions. Maintaining focus on these priorities will be key to fostering inclusive growth and unlocking meaningful economic opportunities for businesses and consumers alike.”

New Borrower Dynamics and Repeat Engagement

The FinTech Compass report offers key insights into evolving borrower profiles. These lenders are drawing a younger and more rural customer base, with 61% of borrowers being under the age of 30, and 24% residing in rural areas. The share of prime and above-prime consumers in FinTech originations has also increased steadily, reaching 62% in December 2024 from 60% in December 2023 and 55% in December 2022. Notably, however, average ticket sizes have declined across all risk tiers.

FinTechs are also seeing stronger customer retention in the personal loan segment, especially in ticket sizes above Rs 50,000. As of December 2024, 48% of borrowers in this segment had prior credit relationships with the same lender, higher than the 43% who had that relationship in December 2023. However, this repeat customer segment witnessed a marginal increase in vintage delinquency rates, rising by 20 basis points year-over-year (YoY) for the quarter ending June 2024 to 4.7% from 4.5% in June 2023. This trend indicates that underwriting needs to be continually refined using comprehensive credit data, even among more experienced borrowers.

Sugandh Saxena, CEO, FinTech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE), the recognized self-regulating organization in the FinTech Sector recognized by the Reserve Bank of India, said: “FinTechs continue to reach ever more people, especially younger and unaddressed segments. As the industry grows, it is important that lending practices stay customer-centric and respond responsibly to evolving risks. Independent industry reports like this support the FinTech community in understanding the wider picture and aligning the business to meet evolving market trends. At FACE, FinTechs large and small unite to promote innovation, customer-centricity and responsible digital finance. These are the foundations for customer and stakeholder trust, creating long-term value from digital finance for everyone.”

Diversification is Key

An analysis of product preferences among FinTech consumers also reveals clear opportunities for further diversification. Of the 20.2 million FinTech consumers in India in December 2023, approximately 9.8 million availed new loans between January and June 2024. These loans amounted to Rs 3.6 lakh crore in sanctioned value. While small-ticket personal loans (STPLs) continued to lead at Rs 26,182 crore, personal loans above Rs 50,000 followed closely at Rs 68,673 crore, with business loans and loans against property sanctioned at Rs 37,231 crore and Rs 26,146 crore respectively. The data suggests that while consumer preferences are evolving, loyalty to FinTech lenders outside the STPL category remains limited, presenting both a challenge and an opportunity for growth.

Driving Growth Through Small-Ticket Personal Loans

Personal loans remain the mainstay of India’s FinTech lending landscape, with STPLs continuing to drive volumes. As of December 2024, STPLs accounted for an overwhelming 92% of FinTech originations and 89% of all STPL originations across the industry.

The average ticket size for personal loans among FinTech borrowers has decreased across all risk tiers. Even among above-prime consumers, the average loan size from FinTech lenders stood at Rs 44,000 in Q4 2024, down from Rs 55,000 in Q4 2023. In contrast, non-FinTech lenders increased their average ticket size across the board. This shrinking ticket size suggests that FinTechs are prioritizing volume and deeper reach, especially to financially underserved segments.

Balancing Reach with Risk

Key trends emerged in delinquency metrics. While early delinquencies for STPLs remained largely stable, business loans experienced a notable increase in delinquency rates. In the case of business loans, the percentage of accounts over 30+ days past due within six months of origination rose from 3.0% in June 2023 to 8.6% in June 2024. Balance-level 90+ days past due delinquencies also increased for business loans (from 1.4% in December 2023 to 1.9% in December 2024) and for loans against property (from 1% in December 2023 to 2.1% in December 2024). These developments underscore the need for FinTech lenders to strengthen portfolio risk monitoring and enhance collection strategies, particularly for newer secured product lines.

Using trended data insights to manage rising credit risks is essential for unlocking untapped growth opportunities in under-penetrated products such as larger-ticket personal loans, business loans, and property-backed lending. While small-ticket personal loans continue to perform steadily, elevated delinquency rates in emerging product categories highlight that FinTechs’ future trajectory will depend on balancing speed and scale with disciplined underwriting and diversified credit strategies.

It is important to recognize that FinTechs often operate with a different risk appetite. Hence, active risk management and continuous portfolio monitoring are essential to ensure sustainable growth and long-term resilience in the evolving credit landscape.

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1.      FinTech refers to Non-banking Financial Companies who have a ‘digital first’ approach to their business.

2.      Others includes P2P Personal Loans, Two-wheeler loans, Education Loans, Auto Loans, Housing Loans, etc.

Disclaimer: This Information above is based on the TransUnion CIBIL FinTech Compass of April 2025. TransUnion CIBIL does not guarantee the adequacy or completeness of the information and/or its suitability for any specific purpose. TransUnion CIBIL shall not be responsible for any reliance on the Information. The reader should carry out all the necessary analysis that is prudent in their opinion before making any decisions.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

About TransUnion CIBIL

India’s pioneer information and insights company, TransUnion CIBIL, makes trust possible by ensuring each person and business entity is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this by providing an actionable view of consumers and businesses, stewarded with care.

We have developed technology and innovative solutions across core credit, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for millions of people and MSMEs in India.

We serve the financial sector as well as MSMEs and individual consumers. Our customers in India include banks, credit institutions, NBFCs, housing finance companies, microfinance companies, telecom companies and insurance firms.

For more information visit www.transunioncibil.com

Mumbai, India, 22 May 2025: The commercial credit portfolio for India’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector grew at 13% year-over-year (YoY) as the overall credit exposure increased to Rs 35.2 lakh crore as of March 31, 2025. This trend was largely driven by an increase in credit supply to existing borrowers, according to TransUnion CIBIL and SIDBI’s MSME Pulse Report for May 2025. The MSME sector includes borrowers with credit exposures up to Rs 50 crore.

Growth in the overall credit portfolio was accompanied by an improvement in balance-level serious delinquencies (measured as 90 to 720 days past due (DPD) and reported as ‘sub-standard’), which fell to 1.8%, a five-year low.

Credit Performance Remains Strong, With Reduction in Balance-level Delinquencies

Overall MSME balance-level delinquencies improved to 1.8%, a 35 basis points drop from 2.1% in March 2024. This improvement was primarily driven by the borrower segment with exposure of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 50 crore. The borrower segment with exposure up to Rs 10 lakh, however, witnessed a slight deterioration at 5.8% in March 2025 compared to 5.1% in March 2024. Similarly, the borrower segment with exposure from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh also saw a marginal rise in the delinquency level to 2.9% as compared to 2.8% in March 2024.

Chart 1: Balance Level Delinquencies

MSME Credit Growth Momentum Remains Robust

The demand for commercial credit, which is measured by the number of enquiries, grew 11% YoY in the quarter ending March 2025. Commercial credit supply (by value) grew 3% YoY in FY 2024-25. However, in the last quarter (Jan-Mar 2025) there was a decline of 11% YoY possibly due to higher credit concerns among lenders arising from increased external headwinds. Despite this slowdown in origination, credit extended through new cash credit facilities remained resilient with 7% YoY growth for the same quarter. While the share of New-to-Credit (NTC) MSME borrowers to total new loan originations continued to be strong at 47% as of March 2025, it was lower than the share of 51% one year prior.   

In the quarter ending March 2025, public sector banks offered 60% of NTC originations. The trade sector contributed the greatest proportion of NTC borrowers at 53%, while the manufacturing sector saw the highest YoY growth (70%) in the number of NTC borrowers originating a commercial loan.

The manufacturing sector had a greater share of the origination value, at 34%, despite contributing to only 23% of all new loans disbursed in the quarter ending March 2025. However, the share of originations by value to the manufacturing sector has declined steadily over the last two years and shifted in favor of professionals and other services and other sectors, which now contribute to 36% of all new loans disbursed by value, up by five percentage points in the last four years.

Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi continued to dominate commercial lending, together accounting for 48% of the value of overall originations in the quarter ending March 2025. While the manufacturing sector had the greatest share of originations in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh had the most originations to the trade sector.

Mr. Manoj Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) said: “The MSME sector plays a crucial role in generating employment opportunities and contributes to export growth. Though the credit flow to the sector has improved over the years, the sector still has an addressable credit gap. Providing support to MSMEs can help the sector’s growth and aid the overall economic growth of our country. By fostering innovation, enhancing skill development programs and improving access to financial resources, we can empower MSMEs to become more competitive on a global scale. This in turn will bolster the sector and drive sustainable economic development and inclusive growth across the nation.”

Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL said: "For MSMEs to achieve sustainable growth, it is imperative that they receive assistance in accessing formal credit and guidance in debt management. Additionally, fluctuations in the business cycle affect these enterprises disproportionately, as they often lack the financial reserves or support necessary to navigate adverse conditions. Therefore, it is crucial to extend support to this sector and equip them with tools for effective financial management."

Disclaimer: This Information above is based on the SIDBI and TransUnion CIBIL MSME Pulse Report. SIDBI and TransUnion CIBIL do not guarantee the adequacy or completeness of the information and/or its suitability for any specific purpose. SIDBI and TransUnion CIBIL shall not be responsible for any reliance on the Information. The reader should carry out all the necessary analysis that is prudent in their opinion before making any decisions.

About TransUnion CIBIL

India’s pioneer information and insights company, TransUnion CIBIL, makes trust possible by ensuring each person and business entity is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this by providing an actionable view of consumers and businesses, stewarded with care.

We have developed technology and innovative solutions across core credit, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for millions of people and MSMEs in India.

We serve the financial sector as well as MSMEs and individual consumers. Our customers in India include banks, credit institutions, NBFCs, housing finance companies, microfinance companies, telecom companies and insurance firms.

For more information visit www.transunioncibil.com

About SIDBI

Since its formation in 1990, SIDBI has been touching the lives of citizens across various strata of society through its integrated, innovative and inclusive approach. SIDBI has directly or indirectly impacted the lives of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through various credit and developmental measures whether they are traditional, domestic small entrepreneurs, bottom-of-the-pyramid entrepreneurs, or high-end knowledge-based entrepreneurs. 

• Consumption-led credit supply continued to decline, with a more pronounced impact on New-to-Credit (NTC) consumer originations
• Growth rate of credit active consumers at slowest since December 2021 
• Credit performance for personal loans showed signs of stabilization for the first time since June 2023

Mumbai, India, 26 March 2025 – India’s retail credit growth continued to moderate in the quarter ending December 2024, particularly among New-to-Credit (NTC)¹ consumers. This was most evident for consumption-led credit products originated by NTC consumers, which saw a 21% year-over-year (YoY) decline in loan originations, compared to a decline of 2% for consumers with existing credit. Consumption-led products are defined as credit cards, personal loans and consumer durable loans.

Originations are a measure of new accounts opened and are driven by both consumer demand and lender supply. Lenders’ cautious approach to the origination of consumption-led credit products disproportionately affected NTC borrowers because 40% of NTC borrowers choose consumption-led products as their first foray into formal credit.

These trends highlight the need for focused lender strategies to expand credit supply to this segment and were some of the findings in the TransUnion CIBIL Credit Market Indicator (CMI)² report for the quarter ending December 2024.

The CMI is a comprehensive measure of data elements that are summarized monthly to analyse changes in credit market health, categorized under four pillars: demand, supply, consumer behaviour, and performance. These factors are combined into a single, comprehensive CMI indicator, and pillars can also be viewed in more detail individually. A higher CMI reading indicates that the credit market health is generally improving, while a lower reading indicates a decline in credit market health. The CMI for December 2024 was 97, lower than 103 in December 2023 and the lowest since December 2021.

Chart 1: Credit Market Indicator (CMI) Dec 2021- Dec 2024

“The acquisition strategies adopted by lenders in response to risk-adjusted returns for unsecured lending products have disproportionately affected the New-to-Credit segment, which represents first-time borrowers,” said Mr. Bhavesh Jain, the MD and CEO of TransUnion CIBIL. “We have seen that sustainable credit growth can be achieved among NTC consumers by lenders who use advanced information analytics and technology-based solutions.”

Credit Supply Continued to Moderate Across Products, Particularly to NTC Consumers

In the quarter ending December 2024, the CMI for credit supply declined to 91 from 95 the same period the year before. A slower growth rate in originations across products and continued decline in originations to NTC consumers drove this change. Home loan and credit card originations declined YoY in the three-month period ending December 2024, while the growth rate for other retail loan products, while positive in the most recent quarter, was at a slower rate than in the same quarter in 2023.

Table 1: YoY Growth in Origination volumes (Accounts)

In the quarter ending December 2024, the share of total loan originations by NTC consumers decreased to 17% from 21% in December 2023. The decline in the share of NTC consumers in loan originations is consistent across key product segments.

Younger generations formed the largest cohort of NTC consumers, with Gen Z (born in 1995 or later) comprising 41%. The share of women borrowers stood at 37% of NTC originations, which was higher than the share of women among Existing to Credit (ETC) borrowers at 27%. Of NTC consumers, 32% were from rural geographies, while 23% of ETC consumers were from rural geographies. The higher percentage of women among NTC originations compared to ETC originations, along with the notable presence of NTC consumers from rural areas, highlights efforts by lenders to reach and support these important demographics. These efforts demonstrate a commitment to fostering financial inclusion and ensuring that more individuals have the opportunity to participate in the formal credit system.

Lenders providing NTC borrowers with their first loan or credit facility can leverage this base to create higher lifetime value, making it a profitable proposition to drive sustained growth. An analysis of TransUnion CIBIL data on consumers who opened their first ever credit product in FY2022-2023 showed that one in three NTC consumers availed a second credit product in the subsequent 12 months. Of the consumers availing the second loan, 44% chose to do so with the same lender.

“India’s youth, women, and consumers in rural areas represent a large share of first-time credit seekers. For India to achieve meaningful, sustainable, and inclusive economic growth, it is imperative to include these consumers into the formal lending ecosystem. Expanding their access to credit directly correlates with improved quality of life and financial empowerment of these individuals,” said Mr. Jain.

Slow Growth in Credit Active Consumers

The continued moderation in credit supply over the last four consecutive quarters led to the YoY growth in credit-active consumers slowing down to 9% in December 2024 from 16% in December 2023. According to World Bank data, as of December 2024, India’s credit-eligible population – consumers aged 18-80 years – stood at approximately 1,036 million, yet only 27% (around 277 million) use formal credit facilities. Approximately 451 million Indians have limited or no formal credit facilities ³.

TransUnion CIBIL’s insights show that Gen Z forms a significant share (34%) of India’s credit eligible population, but displays the lowest credit penetration at 16%. Among consumers with any credit history ever, the majority of these consumers were credit underserved.

Chart 2: Consumer Segments and Credit Experience

Note:

• Served consumers are those who are credit-visible, active consumers who have two or more years of credit history, currently have three or more credit accounts open, or have had two or more different credit product types currently or in the past.
• A newly acquired consumer is one with no prior credit history on their credit bureau file who opened their first-ever credit product in last two years.
• Underserved consumers are defined as any person who has two or more years of credit experience, but no more than two open accounts of one product type ever.

“Access to formal credit is a cornerstone of a stable financial ecosystem and a fundamental element for achieving financial inclusion and empowerment. The continued moderation in credit supply over the past year has decelerated the growth of credit-active consumers. Despite a substantial credit-eligible population, only a small percentage is currently using formal credit facilities, leaving many with limited or no access to formal products. To address this issue, it is imperative to expand and facilitate credit availability and enhance financial literacy among the credit underserved and newly acquired population," Mr. Jain said.

Credit Performance Showing Signs of Stabilization for Personal Loans

The CMI for credit performance increased marginally to 101 in the quarter ended December 2024, from 100 in the quarter ended December 2023. This was due to the improvement in balance-level serious delinquencies (measured as 90 days or more past due) for secured loans.

Table 2: Balance-Level 90+ DPD by Product (December 2024)

Balance level delinquencies for personal loans have stabilized for the first time since June 2023. The 90+ days past due balance-level delinquency rate for below prime⁴ borrowers for personal loans improved to 4.54% in December 2024, a 31 basis point improvement for these consumers compared to 4.85% in December 2023.

Stressing the need for a balanced approach towards expanding access to credit while managing risks effectively, Mr. Jain said: “Even though the positive turnaround in delinquencies may not be visible across all products yet, the trend may encourage lenders to actively seek out newer borrower segments while at the same time continuing to focus on risk-based lending. The need of the hour is to ensure that credit reaches the underserved and unserved segments of borrowers, while continuing to encourage responsible repayments by all borrowers.”

#ENDS

_________________________________________________________________________________

¹. A New-to-Credit consumer has no prior history on their credit file.

2. The TransUnion CIBIL Credit Market Indicator (CMI) is an evolving model which is regularly reviewed to ensure the most relevant variables and their relative weighting are selected to best chart the credit health of India’s lending market. When selecting certain variables, year-on-year movements are analysed to remove the effects of seasonality. The CMI is not a stationary index; hence the level in itself is not indicative of credit health. The CMI number needs to be looked at in relation to the previous period(s) and not in isolation. A lower CMI number compared to the prior period represents a decline in relative credit health, while a higher number reflects an improvement.

3. Credit eligible population is estimated to be India’s population between age group 18-80 years. This estimate is based on World Bank’s population estimate.

4. CreditVision® (CV) score ranges are: Subprime 300–680; Near prime 681–730; Prime 731–770; Prime plus 771–790; Super prime 791-900

Disclaimer: This Information above is based on the TransUnion CIBIL Credit Market Indicator Report of December 2024. TransUnion CIBIL does not guarantee the adequacy or completeness of the information and/or its suitability for any specific purpose. TransUnion CIBIL shall not be responsible for any reliance on the Information. The reader should carry out all the necessary analysis that is prudent in their opinion before making any decisions.

Mumbai, March 3, 2025: More women in India are seeking credit, and more women are also actively monitoring their credit scores and report¹. These are some of the key findings of the annual report on women and retail credit², “From Borrowers to Builders: Women’s Role in India’s Financial Growth Story”, published by TransUnion CIBIL , Women Entrepreneurship Platform’s (WEP) of Niti Aayog and MicroSave Consulting (MSC).

According to the report, 27 million women borrowers in India were actively monitoring their credit in December 2024, which is 42% higher than the approximately 19 million women who were doing so in December 2023. This indicates that women borrowers are increasingly recognizing the importance of credit health as a cornerstone of financial empowerment.

Younger Women Leading the Way in Credit Monitoring

As more women enter the workforce or become entrepreneurs, access to formal credit offers them a pathway to further their careers or support their business growth trajectory. Additionally, monitoring their credit helps women borrowers maintain their financial health, secure better loan terms, and protect against identity theft.

Announcing the launch of the report, Anna Roy, Principal Economic Advisor, NITI Aayog and Mission Director WEP, said: “Encouraging women entrepreneurship is one way of ensuring employment opportunities for women entering the workforce in India. It can also work as a viable strategy for accelerating equitable economic growth of our economy. Promoting women’s entrepreneurship could create employment opportunities for 150 to 170 million people while driving women’s participation in the labor force.”

B. V. R. Subrahmanyam, CEO of NITI Aayog, highlighted the critical role of access to finance in empowering women entrepreneurs, stating, “Government recognizes that access to finance is a fundamental enabler for women’s entrepreneurship. The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) continues to work towards building an inclusive ecosystem that fosters financial literacy, access to credit, mentorship, and market linkages. However, ensuring equitable financial access requires a collective effort. The role of financial institutions in designing inclusive products tailored to women’s needs, along with policy initiatives that address structural barriers, will be instrumental in accelerating this momentum. To achieve this goal under the aegis of WEP, Financing Women Collaborative (FWC) has been constituted. We seek more financial sector stakeholders to join FWC and contribute to this mission.”

Drawing attention to the growing awareness about credit health among women entrepreneurs, Mr. Bhavesh Jain, MD & CEO, TransUnion CIBIL said: “The number of women self-monitoring their credit information report and score grew by 42%, from 18.94 million in December 2023 to 26.92 million in December 2024. While this is an encouraging trend, this must continue for women to progress from being participants to leaders in India’s economic story. Borrowers can make better informed financial decisions by being vigilant about their credit status.”

Fig 1: Self-Monitoring Women Borrowers (In Millions)

The report also highlights that the share of women in the total self-monitoring base increased to 19.43% in December 2024, up from 17.89% in December 2023.

Speaking on the report’s findings, Manoj Kumar Sharma, Managing Director, MSC said: “The findings are striking. The number of women seeking credit has grown at a CAGR of 22% since 2019, with 60% of borrowers coming from semi-urban and rural areas. This underscores a deepening financial footprint beyond metro cities.”

Additionally, younger Gen Z women are leading the way in credit monitoring, with the number in this cohort increasing by 56% year-over-year (YoY) leading to their share in the self-monitoring women population as 22% in 2024. The number of Millennial³ women witnessed a 38% YoY increase leading to a share of 52% among self-monitoring women population for the same period.

Even within the total self-monitoring population, the share of Gen Z women borrowers increased to 27.1% in December 2024, up from 24.9% in December 2023. Growth across these metrics indicates a higher level of financial awareness and a wider acceptance of credit management tools in the journey towards achieving financial independence.

Age Distribution of Self-Monitoring Women Consumers by 2024

Changing Preference in Loans Availed by Women Borrowers

The number of women availing credit in India has increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22% between CY 2019 and 2024. While consumption loans⁴ continue to be the preferred products held by women borrowers, the report’s insights show that more women are also availing business loans.

In 2024, the number of new loan accounts opened by women for business purposes (business loans, commercial vehicle and commercial equipment loans, loans against property) saw a growth of approximately 37 lakh, with disbursement totaling Rs 1.9 lakh crore, compared to approximately 8 lakh new loan accounts for business purposes and total disbursement of Rs 0.7 lakh crore in 2019. While the number of loan accounts has increased by over four times since 2019, these loans constituted only 3% of overall loans availed by women borrowers in 2024.

Consumption loans remain the most preferred credit product among women borrowers. The share of women borrowers with active consumption loans in their wallet grew to 36% by December 2024, from 33% in December 2019. Agri and gold loans combined were held by 34% of women borrowers by December 2024 compared to 32% in December 2019. Business loans witnessed the highest share shift, with 16% of women borrowers by December 2024 holding a live business purpose loan, compared to 9% in December 2019.

Being Credit-Aware Encourages Borrowers to Avail More Loans

TransUnion CIBIL data shows that 13.49% of women who actively monitor their credit information open a loan account within one month of their monitoring activity. This underscores how credit information awareness and monitoring directly translates into credit action.

Additionally, 44% of the women borrowers who actively monitor their credit information saw improvement in their credit scores within six months, reflecting the positive effect of increased financial awareness. Among women in the 90+ days past due (DPD) payment category at the time of their credit check, 17.45% moved to a lower delinquency bracket within six months, while 11.37% became standard borrowers. This indicates that in addition to aiding higher loan uptake, self-monitoring also drives improvements in credit health.

“By diligently making their loan repayments and benefiting from improved credit scores as a result of this behavior, women are increasingly availing multiple loans to address their diverse needs. Lenders can leverage this payments data to identify and target credit-ready and creditworthy women borrowers, while also seizing the opportunity to provide support to those who may require assistance with repayment, thereby laying the foundation for long-term, trust-based relationships with their borrowers,’’ said Bhushan Padkil Senior Vice President and Head of Direct-To-Consumer Business at TransUnion CIBIL. 

State-Wide Distribution of Self-Monitoring Women Borrowers

Insights from the report indicate that more women borrowers from non-metro regions are active in self-monitoring their credit, compared to women borrowers from metro areas. The number of self-monitoring women from metro areas has grown by 30% YoY, while those in non-metro areas has grown by 48% during the same period.

In CY 2024, the top five states for self-monitoring women were Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana. These states were home to 49% of all self-monitoring women across all states. The southern region had the highest number of self-monitoring women, with 10.2 million women. This region also experienced a growth of 46% in self-monitoring women from December 2023 to December 2024.

Northern and central states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have witnessed a high compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in active women borrowers over the last five years.

Need for More Women Centric and Inclusive Financial Offerings

Since 2019, women’s share in business loans origination increased by 14% and of gold loans by 6%. As of December 2024, women accounted for 35% of business borrowers in India. Despite these encouraging signs of improving credit awareness and credit health, women borrowers continue to face challenges to accessing credit such as credit aversion, poor banking experiences, barriers to credit readiness and constraints around collateral and guarantors.

With the constant rise of credit awareness and improved scores there is potential for financial institutions to increase lending to women with gender intelligent financial products that align to women’s unique business and personal needs.

Highlighting the issues faced by women borrowers, Mr. Jain said: “Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach, including improving financial literacy, enhancing banking experiences, and creating more inclusive financial products and services. By doing so, we can ensure that women borrowers have equitable access to credit and the opportunity to achieve their financial goals.”

About TransUnion CIBIL

India’s pioneer information and insights company, TransUnion CIBIL makes trust possible in the modern economy. We do this by providing an actionable picture of each person so they can be reliably represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good®. TransUnion CIBIL provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for millions of people in India. We serve the financial sector as well as MSMEs, corporate and individual consumers. Our customers in India include banks, financial institutions, NBFCs, housing finance companies, microfinance companies and insurance firms.

For more information visit: www.transunioncibil.com

About WEP

The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), a pioneering initiative by NITI Aayog, is steadfast in its mission to empower women entrepreneurs across India. Through recent initiatives and partnerships, WEP continues to break barriers and create opportunities for women. From launching state chapters and building international partnerships to providing mentorship and skill development programmes, WEP is making a tangible difference and setting a foundation for future possibilities.

About MSC

MicroSave Consulting (MSC) is a boutique consulting firm that has, for 25 years, driven progress toward meaningful financial, social, and economic inclusion. With a team of over 300 staff from diverse nationalities and areas of expertise, the firm operates in more than 68 developing countries. MSC collaborates with stakeholders in financial services, enterprise, agriculture, and health ecosystems to

deliver sustainable performance improvements and unlock lasting value. Its clients include governments, donors, private sector corporations, and local businesses. MSC specializes in helping organizations seize digital opportunities, address mass markets, and future-proof their operations.

 Mumbai, India, 27 January 2025 – India’s retail credit growth continued to moderate in the quarter ending September 2024 due to a general cooling in the rate of credit demand growth and a decrease in credit supply across most loan products. Additionally, credit performance was mixed with consumption-led loans – defined as credit cards, personal loans and consumer durable loans – showing a deterioration compared to the same period in 2023. These were some of the findings of the TransUnion CIBIL Credit Market Indicator (CMI)¹ report for the quarter ending September 2024.

The CMI is a comprehensive measure of data elements that are summarized monthly to analyze changes in credit market health, categorized under four pillars: demand, supply, consumer behavior, and performance. These factors are combined into a single, comprehensive indicator, and pillars can also be viewed in more detail individually. The CMI for September 2024 was 100, lower than 103 in September 2023. While the indicator has remained consistently above 100 since September 2022, the cooling in credit demand along with the contraction in credit supply has led to continued moderation.

Chart 1: Credit Market Indicator (CMI) Sep 2021- Sep 2024

Speaking on the findings of the September 2024 CMI report, the MD and CEO of TransUnion CIBIL, Mr. Bhavesh Jain, said: “Several factors including challenging global economic conditions, slowing urban consumption and regulatory measures designed to stabilize the credit-deposit ratio, have affected the credit market in India. The slowdown in consumer credit demand, coupled with a decline in loan originations by lenders, has resulted in a cooling of overall retail credit growth. Identifying eligible and lower risk consumers that can afford to service their credit obligations, will be critical for the sustained growth of credit and the economy.”

Credit supply declined across most products

Both loan enquiry (a measure of consumer demand) and origination (in part, a measure of lender supply) volumes of consumption-driven loans declined year-over-year (YoY) in the quarter ending September 2024, except for personal loans.

While personal loan origination volumes recorded a double-digit YoY growth, the growth was at a slower pace (up 11% quarter ending September 2024) compared to the same period the previous year (up 32%). Loans against property (LAP) and two-wheeler loans also saw growth in originations, albeit at a slower pace. Origination volumes for all other retail loan products declined YoY in the quarter ending September 2024.

Table 1: YoY Growth in Origination Volumes (Accounts)

Total origination values for consumption-driven loans also saw a decline YoY, with personal loans down -5%, credit cards down -20% and consumer durable loans at -3%. This YoY negative growth in consumption-led loans volumes and values led to the overall supply pillar of the CMI measure declining to a three-year low of 91 in the quarter ending September 2024, from 95 for the same quarter in 2023.

“Faced with current market dynamics, lenders are taking a measured approach to risk management with a general cooling of origination volumes. In addition, where they are granting non-consumption loans, these are typically for higher amounts catering to high income consumers,” continued Mr. Jain.

Table 2: Origination Volumes by Ticket Size (Quarter ending Sept 2024)

Moderation observed in retail loan portfolio balances

Although still significant, portfolio balances grew at a slower rate YoY in September 2024 for all retail credit products, except credit cards which grew at 34% YoY in September 24 as compared to 26% in September 23. There has been a cooling off in new loan originations for personal loans and consumer durables loans since quarter ending March 24. This may have led to consumers increasing their spending on their existing credit cards to finance their consumption needs.

Table 3: YoY Growth in Outstanding Portfolio Balances

“The marked increase in credit card spending indicates its expanding acceptance among consumers, not only for transactions but also as a tool to access credit. This may be an opportunity for lenders to identify consumers who require additional credit for their consumption and aspirational goals, and service them with customized solutions that are better suited and affordable for them. These customized credit offers should focus on helping the consumer fulfill their needs effectively while also supporting them in building a stronger credit profile,” Mr. Jain said. “By using more comprehensive data insights to understand the changing dynamics of consumer spending and credit usage, lenders can devise dynamic strategies better suited to evolving market conditions while enhancing customer loyalty.”

Delinquencies show mixed picture

Achieving the dual objectives of sustained credit growth while simultaneously maintaining asset quality requires issued loans to be repaid on time to help minimize default risks and preserve financial stability. Balance-level serious delinquencies (measured as 90 days or more past due) by product improved for secured loan products but deteriorated for consumption-led loans.

Table 4: Balance-Level 90+ DPD by Product (September 2024)

*Balance level 90+ DPD excludes Asset Reconstruction Companies

TransUnion CIBIL analyzed the delinquency pattern of borrowers who hold both consumption-led loans and secured loans, which at 3.7 Cr. accounted for 15% of retail borrowers. The delinquency trend for these consumers shows that 4.1% of these consumers have at least 1 Equated Monthly Instalment (EMI) outstanding in only consumption loans. This share has increased from 3.9% for same period the previous year. Delinquency in consumption loans is an early sign of stress for borrower which may lead to delinquency in secured loans in future. This trend highlights the need for lenders to actively monitor the credit behavior of consumers with multiple types of loans, to limit potential risk in the secured loan portfolios of consumers.

“Evolving market conditions mean lenders need to take a targeted approach to retail credit growth. Intensive portfolio monitoring, facilitated by innovative analytic techniques, will enable lenders to prudently advance credit to qualifying consumers across India, acting as a catalyst for economic activity and development,” Mr. Jain added.

1. The TransUnion CIBIL Credit Market Indicator (CMI) is an evolving model which is regularly reviewed to ensure the most relevant variables and their relative weighting are selected to best chart the credit health of India’s lending market. When selecting certain variables, year-on-year movements are analyzed to remove the effects of seasonality. The CMI is not a stationary index; hence the level in itself is not indicative of credit health. The CMI number needs to be looked at in relation to the previous period(s) and not in isolation. A lower CMI number compared to the prior period represents a decline in relative credit health, while a higher number reflects an improvement.

About TransUnion CIBIL

India’s pioneer information and insights company, TransUnion CIBIL, makes trust possible by ensuring each person is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this by providing an actionable view of consumers, stewarded with care.

Through our acquisitions and technology investments we have developed innovative solutions that extend beyond our strong foundation in core credit into areas such as marketing, fraud, risk, and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for millions of people around the world.

We serve the financial sector as well as MSMEs, corporate and individual consumers. Our customers in India include banks, financial institutions, NBFCs, housing finance companies, microfinance companies and insurance firms.

For more information visit www.transunioncibil.com

Disclaimer: This Information above is based on TransUnion CIBIL Credit Market Indicator Report of September 2024. TU CIBIL does not guarantee the adequacy or completeness of the information and/or its suitability for any specific purpose. TU CIBIL shall not be responsible for any reliance on the Information. The reader should carry out all the necessary analysis that is prudent in its opinion before making any decisions.