Car, two-wheeler loan originations fall in Q4 after GST-cut; gold loans zoom: Report

Auto and two-wheeler loan originations by value declined sharply in the January-March period, with auto loans down 11.6% and two-wheeler loans down 22% from the previous quarter.

Auto and two-wheeler loan originations by value fell sharply in the January-March period after a jump experienced in the preceding December quarter, a report said on Wednesday.

Despite the relative volatility in prices of the precious commodity, gold loan originations increased in Q4FY26, according to the report by Crif High Mark, a credit information company.

Auto loan originations declined by 11.6 per cent to Rs 1.05 lakh crore during the March quarter, while the same for two-wheeler loan originations by value declined by a much sharper 22 per cent to Rs 29,800 crore during the quarter.

It can be noted that following the GST rationalisation, there was a surge in demand for the auto industry in Q3 FY26. Additionally, festivities would also have led to higher demand in Q3FY26.

From a portfolio perspective, auto loans grew 3.4 per cent during Q4 versus the preceding quarter, while two-wheeler loans were up by 2.7 per cent on a sequential basis.

The overall retail loans in the system grew 16.6 per cent to Rs 170 lakh crore in FY26, while the quantum of stressed advances also reduced in the last fiscal, the CIC data said.

Only 2.7 per cent of retail loans across categories are unpaid for between 31 and 180 days as of March 31, 2026, against 3.1 per cent in the year-ago period.

The home loan portfolio at the system level grew by under 10 per cent in FY26, while gold loans jumped by 50.4 per cent in the fiscal year as lenders grew more confident of lending against the commodity, witnessing a rise in prices.

Amid concerns over possible reverses in gold loan asset quality, as there have been some fluctuations in prices after the onset of the West Asia conflict, the data showed an improvement in the quantum of assets unpaid for 31-180 days at 1.2 per cent as of March against 2 per cent in the year-ago period.