Demand for gold loans rising, more people resorting to pledging their gold ornaments, says Muthoot Finance MD

Muthoot Finance Ltd. which saw 48% growth in gold loan in FY26, is seeing demand for gold loans rising at difficult times when several sectors have been impacted by the West Asia conflict. 

“Though people’s purchasing power is actually coming down, incomes have been impacted, as of date, we have not seen any such impact on our business. When people are having difficulty, even businessmen are facing problems, they require funding. So people are now more and more resorting to pledging of their gold ornaments,” said George Alexander Muthoot, Managing Director, Muthoot Finance Ltd. in an interview.

“That’s why in the last five quarters, business has been good, business has been growing well, because people are trying to monetize the ornaments, get money for their needs, whether it is for need of small business or for their personal needs,” he said. 

“That is why you see good growth. And of course, the gold price has also helped. The price of gold in the last two years is almost doubled. So people’s gold has become quite valuable now. So more and more people are now resorting to using their idle gold to get funding, which is easy,” he added.

He said the recent curbs announced by the government to prevent import of gold and purchase of gold ornaments will not have any impact on the company.

“We finance or use household ornaments as collateral only. The gold is already with people as ornaments. We do not finance any purchase of gold. We do not fund import of gold. So it is actually neutral for us. It doesn’t affect us,” he emphasized.

In FY26 the company’s consolidated Profit after Tax (PAT) increased 98% YoY to ₹10,607 crore. Its consolidated Loan Assets Under Management grew 49% YoY to ₹1,81,916 crore in FY26.

During the quarter, consolidated Loan Assets Under Management grew 10% YoY to ₹17,196 crore.

Standalone Loan Assets Under Management crossed Rs. 1,62,000 crore and has increased by 50% YoY.

The standalone Profit after Tax for FY26 increased by 95% YoY to ₹10,134 crore.

The Board has declared dividend of ₹30 per equity share. This is the 14th year of consistent dividend declaration since its IPO in 2011.

Mr. Muthoot said during the year, the company achieved its highest ever gold loan advances to new customers at ₹29,347 crore among 17.71 lakh new customers, reinforcing its position “as a trusted partner in India’s organised gold loan industry.’

“As the sector continues to formalise and evolve, we remain focused on delivering responsible, transparent, and customer-centric lending solutions at scale. Complementing our core gold loan business, our non-gold loan offerings continued to gain traction, with our microfinance loans, personal loans, and home loans playing a pivotal role in diversifying our overall loan book,” he said.

During the year the company opened 177 new branches. Total branches as on FY 26 is 1,312. Collection efficiency increased by 0.69% at 99.85% in FY 26 which was 99.16% on FY 25.

The company said the new gold loan guidelines are a positive step for the industry and are expected to accelerate the formalisation of the gold loan sector by strengthening transparency, governance, and customer confidence in organised players.

“Last year was a good year. We are quite satisfied. All the people, our staff, everybody worked well. All the stakeholders supported us. So we are very happy with last year’s performance,” he said.