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Three NBFCs Position for India’s Next Unsecured Credit Cycle
Personal loans are loans that do not require a specific asset as collateral.
In India, these loans grew faster in July 2026 than they did a year earlier.
UBS believes people may borrow more because household debt is stable, lenders have money to lend, and loan quality is currently healthy.
Gold loans had grown as gold prices rose, but that growth is slowing.
Some borrowers may therefore return to personal loans.
Poonawalla Fincorp has a relatively direct personal-loan opportunity but also lends in other areas.
Tata Capital is using personal loans as one growth source within a much larger business.
Aditya Birla Capital is growing this segment quickly while trying to keep lending standards strict.
The main test will be whether borrowers continue repaying well as these newer loans mature.
RBI data showed personal-loan credit growth accelerating to 16.2% year-on-year in July 2026 from 11.9% a year earlier.
UBS says stable household leverage, healthy asset quality and abundant liquidity could support another unsecured-credit expansion.
Poonawalla Fincorp combines personal and consumer lending with a diversified book, while reporting stronger profits and lower GNPA.
Tata Capital’s personal-loan disbursals rose 73% year-on-year, although unsecured retail loans represented just 10.3% of net AUM.
Aditya Birla Capital’s personal and consumer-loan AUM grew 41%, supported by tighter underwriting and borrowers with credit scores above 700.
- Who
- UBS, the Reserve Bank of India, and the three highlighted lenders: Poonawalla Fincorp, Tata Capital, and Aditya Birla Capital.
- What
- The lenders are positioned to benefit from a potential revival in India’s unsecured personal-credit cycle.
- Where
- India.
- When
- Personal-loan growth was reported for July 2026; lender performance figures refer mainly to Q1FY27.
- Why
- Stable household leverage, healthy asset quality, abundant liquidity, and potentially slower gold-loan growth may redirect demand toward personal loans.
Growth Opportunity
Risk and Discipline
Unsecured-credit expansion
Growth Opportunity
UBS sees favorable conditions for another leg of personal-loan growth because household leverage is broadly stable, asset quality is healthy, and liquidity is abundant.
Risk and Discipline
The article says the quality of the cycle will only become clear as newer loans mature and early delinquencies and credit costs are observed.
Gold loans and personal loans
Growth Opportunity
Slowing growth in bank credit against gold jewellery could push some borrowers back toward conventional personal loans.
Risk and Discipline
If gold prices stabilize, the collateral-value tailwind may weaken, but the article does not establish how much credit demand will shift to personal loans.
Lender positioning
Growth Opportunity
Poonawalla Fincorp, Tata Capital, and Aditya Birla Capital each have identifiable growth opportunities in personal or unsecured lending.
Risk and Discipline
The lenders face different execution risks: Poonawalla must manage a newer personal-loan book, Tata Capital must contain costs as unsecured lending scales, and Aditya Birla Capital must preserve asset quality while seeking higher yields.
Key facts
- Personal-loan credit growth
- 16.2% year-on-year in July 2026, compared with 11.9% a year earlier.
- Poonawalla Fincorp AUM
- ₹67,054 crore at the end of Q1FY27.
- Poonawalla Fincorp net profit
- ₹308 crore in Q1FY27, up nearly 390% year-on-year.
- Tata Capital consolidated AUM
- ₹2.91 lakh crore in Q1FY27, up 22% year-on-year.
- Tata Capital personal-loan disbursals
- Up 73% year-on-year in Q1FY27.
- Aditya Birla Capital personal and consumer-loan AUM
- ₹23,267 crore in Q1FY27, up 41% year-on-year.
- Aditya Birla Capital credit quality
- More than 95% of personal and consumer loans went to borrowers with credit scores above 700.
Sources
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