Business
Gold loan boom: Credit market poised for major expansion; NBFCs plan 3,000 new branches as demand jumps – The Times of India
India’s gold loan market is gearing up for strong expansion, with non-bank lenders preparing to open around 3,000 dedicated branches over the next year to meet rising demand. The market, which is largely led by public-sector banks, grew 36% year-on-year to Rs 14.5 lakh crore by the end of September.According to sector heads quoted by ET, this is the largest annual branch expansion undertaken by gold loan companies. Lenders are setting up exclusive gold-loan centres and adding the product to many existing branches to tap what they see as a fast-growing opportunity.George Alexander Muthoot, managing director of Muthoot Finance, was cited by ET as saying that demand for gold loans is increasing sharply, as borrowers struggling to secure unsecured microfinance loans are turning to secured lending against jewellery. Microfinance firms have become more selective due to heavy stress in their asset quality.Rising gold prices have also boosted loan ticket sizes, making the product particularly attractive to farmers and small traders seeking working capital. Rating agency ICRA has projected the organised market will reach Rs 15 lakh crore in FY26, a year ahead of earlier expectations.Shaji Varghese, CEO of Muthoot Fincorp, said that he expects the momentum to continue, noting that global central bank demand is driving gold prices, reported ET. His firm plans to open 200 branches by March. Major players such as Muthoot Finance, Muthoot Fincorp, IIFL Finance and Bajaj Finance together intend to add about 1,800 branches. Bajaj Finance alone aims to open 900 by March 2027, while IIFL Finance plans 500 by this fiscal year.New entrants are also expanding aggressively. L&T Finance, which entered the gold loan market in February after acquiring Paul Merchants Finance’s 130-branch business, plans to add 200 more outlets. Microfinance players such as Keertana Finserv and Uttrayan Financial Services are diversifying into gold loans to stabilise their portfolios. “We are scaling down our microfinance business,” Padmaja Reddy said, adding they will set up 175 gold-loan branches by FY26, ET reported.Setting up a gold loan branch requires significant security infrastructure, from strong rooms to vaults and cameras, costing between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 20 lakh. Such branches usually break even within 1.5–2 years.ICRA expects NBFC gold-loan assets under management to grow 30–35% in FY26, supported by high gold prices and slower growth in unsecured loan products. Public-sector banks remain dominant in the segment, with their gold loan portfolios growing at a CAGR of 27% in FY24 and FY25, compared with 22% for private banks.
Business
Stock Market Live Updates: Sensex, Nifty Hit Record Highs; Bank Nifty Climbs 60,000 For The First Time
Stock Market News Live Updates: Indian equity benchmarks opened with a strong gap-up on Monday, December 1, touching fresh record highs, buoyed by a sharp acceleration in Q2FY26 GDP growth to a six-quarter peak of 8.2%. Positive cues from Asian markets further lifted investor sentiment.
The BSE Sensex was trading at 85,994, up 288 points or 0.34%, after touching an all-time high of 86,159 in early deals. The Nifty 50 stood at 26,290, higher by 87 points or 0.33%, after scaling a record intraday high of 26,325.8.
Broader markets also saw gains, with the Midcap index rising 0.27% and the Smallcap index advancing 0.52%.
On the sectoral front, the Nifty Bank hit a historic milestone by crossing the 60,000 mark for the first time, gaining 0.4% to touch a fresh peak of 60,114.05.
Meanwhile, the Metal and PSU Bank indices climbed 0.8% each in early trade.
Global cues
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower on Monday as traders assessed fresh Chinese manufacturing data and increasingly priced in the likelihood of a US Federal Reserve rate cut later this month.
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are now assigning an 87.4 per cent probability to a rate cut at the Fed’s December 10 meeting.
China’s factory activity unexpectedly slipped back into contraction in November, with the RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI by S&P Global easing to 49.9, below expectations of 50.5, as weak domestic demand persisted.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.6 per cent, while the broader Topix declined 0.86 per cent. In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 0.30 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.31 per cent.
US stock futures were steady in early Asian trade after a positive week on Wall Street. On Friday, in a shortened post-Thanksgiving session, the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.65 per cent to 23,365.69, its fifth consecutive day of gains.
The S&P 500 rose 0.54 per cent to 6,849.09, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 289.30 points, or 0.61 per cent, to close at 47,716.42.
Osmond ChiaBusiness reporter
Getty ImagesSouth Korea’s largest online retailer, Coupang, has apologised for a massive data breach potentially involving nearly 34 million local customer accounts.
The country’s internet authority said that it is investigating the breach and that details from the millions of accounts have likely been exposed.
Coupang is often described as South Korea’s equivalent of Amazon.com. The breach marks the latest in a series of data leaks at major firms in the country, including its telecommunications giant, SK Telecom.
Coupang told the BBC it became aware of the unauthorised access of personal data of about 4,500 customer accounts on 18 November and immediately reported it to the authorities.
But later checks found that some 33.7 million customer accounts – all in South Korea – were likely exposed, said Coupang, adding that the breach is believed to have begun as early as June through a server based overseas.
The exposed data is limited to name, email address, phone number, shipping address and some order histories, Coupang said.
No credit card information or login credentials were leaked. Those details remain securely protected and no action is required from Coupang users at this point, the firm added.
The number of accounts affected by the incident represents more than half of South Korea’s roughly-52 million population.
Coupang, which is founded in South Korea and headquartered in the US, said recently that it had nearly 25 million active users.
Coupang apologised to its customers and warned them to stay alert to scams impersonating the company.
The firm did not give details on who is behind the breach.
South Korean media outlets reported on Sunday that a former Coupang employee from China was suspected of being behind the breach.
The authorities are assessing the scale of the breach as well as whether Coupang had broken any data protection safety rules, South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT said in a statement.
“As the breach involves the contact details and addresses of a large number of citizens, the Commission plans to conduct a swift investigation and impose strict sanctions if it finds a violation of the duty to implement safety measures under the Protection Act.”
The incident marks the latest in a series of breaches affecting major South Korean companies this year, despite the country’s reputation for stringent data privacy rules.
SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest mobile operator, was fined nearly $100m (£76m) over a data breach involving more than 20 million subscribers.
In September, Lotte Cards also said the data of nearly three million customers was leaked after a cyber-attack on the credit card firm.
Agency workers hired to cover Birmingham bin strikers will join them on picket lines on Monday, a union has said.
A rally will be held by Unite The Union at Smithfield Depot on Pershore Street, Birmingham, on Monday morning to mark the first day of strike action by agency refuse workers.
Unite said the Job & Talent agency workers had voted in favour of strike action “over bullying, harassment and the threat of blacklisting at the council’s refuse department two weeks ago”.
The union said the number of agency workers who will join the strike action is “growing daily”.
Strikes by directly-employed bin workers, which have been running since January, could continue beyond May’s local elections.
The directly-employed bin workers voted in favour of extending their industrial action mandate earlier this month.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Birmingham council will only resolve this dispute when it stops the appalling treatment of its workforce.
“Agency workers have now joined with directly-employed staff to stand up against the massive injustices done to them.
“Instead of wasting millions more of council taxpayers’ money fighting a dispute it could settle justly for a fraction of the cost, the council needs to return to talks with Unite and put forward a fair deal for all bin workers.
“Strikes will not end until it does.”
Stock Market Live Updates: Sensex, Nifty Hit Record Highs; Bank Nifty Climbs 60,000 For The First Time
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