Loans to women grow at 19% in 2023; personal loans jump fastest: Report

Personal loans and two-wheeler loans portfolio showed the fastest growth at 26 per cent, the report released in the run-up to the International Women's Day by Crif High Mark said.

Mumbai: Loans availed by women grew 19 per cent in 2023, outpacing the overall loan growth of 17 per cent, a credit information company said on Tuesday.

Personal loans and two-wheeler loans portfolio showed the fastest growth at 26 per cent, the report released in the run-up to the International Women’s Day by Crif High Mark said. In absolute terms, the overall portfolio to women stood at Rs 30.95 lakh crore in 2023 against Rs 26 lakh crore at the end of 2022.

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From an active loans perspective, the number of loans availed by women borrowers grew by 19 per cent. All segments witnessed growth excluding business loans and education loans which showed a decline of 19 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.

The growth in women borrowers by active loans was the fastest in the personal loan segment at 52 per cent, followed by loans against property at 39 per cent, the data showed.

By portfolio outstanding, personal loan borrowings by women grew 26 per cent to Rs 12.76 lakh crore. It can be noted that since 2023, the sector regulator RBI has been flagging concerns on unsecured loans like personal loans and also increased the risk weights to dissuade the lenders from such lending activities.

A large number of the potentially risky lendings has happened under Rs 50,000 which is a small ticket, according to industry executives.

The average ticket size for a personal loan by a woman declined to Rs 80,000 in 2023, from Rs 1 lakh in the year-ago period. In a majority of other loans, the average ticket size increased in 2023 when compared to 2022