Urban Co-operative Banks Expand Credit Role as Outstanding Balances Almost Double in Five Years

Bengaluru, 13th Feb 2026 :  Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) are strengthening their position in India’s credit ecosystem, supported by steady balance growth, improving asset quality, and rising demand across both retail and small business segments.

Outstanding credit balances of UCBs stood at ₹3.4 lakh crore as of September 2025, representing a 1.9x increase over the last five years, according to Sahakaar Trends, a joint publication by the National Urban Co-operative Finance and Development Corporation (NUCFDC) and TransUnion CIBIL, India’s pioneer information and insights company.

While UCBs continue to hold a modest share of overall industry credit at around 1.8%, the data shows a system that is expanding in scale while adapting to changing borrower profiles, competitive dynamics, and regulatory expectations.

“UCBs are expanding more widely into Bharat, extending formal credit beyond large urban centres to households and small businesses in semi-urban and emerging regions. Their proximity to local communities allows them to serve borrowers where local context and relationships matter, helping bring more of Bharat into the formal credit system. As these banks expand their reach across retail and small-business lending, sustaining credit quality while broadening access will remain central to their role in supporting more balanced and inclusive economic participation,” said Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion CIBIL.

“The expanding credit footprint of UCBs reflects strong borrower trust, particularly in semi-urban and emerging regions where access to formal credit remains critical. As these banks scale up, the focus must remain on strengthening institutional capacity, improving operational efficiency, and building resilient governance frameworks. Supporting UCBs through this transition is essential to ensuring that their growth continues to translate into meaningful financial participation and long-term economic stability,” said Shri Prabhat Chaturvedi, CEO, NUCFDC.

Commercial loans, housing loans, retail business loans, loan against property, gold loans, personal loans, auto loans and loans against bank deposits dominate UCB balance sheets. As of September 2025, these products together accounted for nearly 83% of UCBs’ total outstanding balances, reflecting a continued emphasis on collateral-backed retail lending and credit to small enterprises.

The average housing loan ticket sizes for UCBs stood at around ₹23 lakh, compared to ₹26 lakh for housing finance companies. For gold loans, the average ticket size is ₹1.3 lakh for UCBs, compared to ₹2.3 lakh for PSU banks. In contrast, average commercial loan ticket sizes for UCBs were approximately ₹50 lakh, higher than ₹37 lakh for Public Sector Banks (PSUs), while personal loan ticket sizes averaged about ₹4.7 lakh, compared to ₹2 lakh for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).

Product	5 Years CAGR in Balances (Sep ‘25 vs Sept ‘20)	% Share in Balances (Sept ‘25)
Commercial Loan*	4%	30%
Housing Loan	19%	14%
Retail Business Loan	19%	12%
Loan Against Property	17%	10%
Personal Loan	17%	6%
Gold Loan	49%	5%
Auto Loan	38%	4%
Loan Against Bank Deposits	20%	2%

*All Commercial fund-based loans (working capital -term loan) with entity with total exposure of 100 Cr is considered.

Gold loans account for about 5% of UCBs’ overall credit portfolio. Although they cater to a relatively higher share of below-prime borrowers in this segment compared with PSU banks, credit performance indicators have improved, with the balance-level delinquencies, measured as balances 90 days past due or more, declining steadily in recent periods.

Commercial loans account for the largest share of the total outstanding balances for UCBs, as of September 2025. Indexed to September 2020 as 100, enquiry-level data shows a sharper rise in commercial loan demand for UCBs by September 2025.

While UCBs recorded a higher conversion rate from enquiry to origination compared with PSU banks during the three months ended June 2025, the pace of disbursement remains slower, with 45% of originations disbursed within 15 days, compared with 61% for PSU banks. UCBs also cater to a higher share of entities with credit exposure exceeding ₹1 crore and also have a higher share of low-risk borrowers at 49% compared to 45% medium-risk borrowers and 6% high-risk borrowers1.

Housing loans constitute the second largest share of total outstanding balances for UCBs. Demand for housing loans has remained stable with UCBs recording 2x growth in the last five years attracting younger consumers, women, and New-to-Credit borrowers. Additionally, the growth has also been greater in urban and semi-urban regions.

The credit performance for housing loans has improved, with 90+ DPD balance-level delinquencies falling to 2.8% as of September 2025, from 3.2% in September 2024.

Personal loan demand at UCBs has strengthened in recent periods. UCBs recorded higher conversion rates for personal loan enquiries at 39%, compared to 22% for NBFCs during the three months ended August 2025, although only 42% of these loans were disbursed within five days, compared with 68% for NBFCs. Additionally, the balance-level delinquencies for personal loans have steadily improved for UCBs and have been consistent for recent periods. The personal loan delinquencies (90+ DPD) declined from about 4.5% in September 2020 to approximately 2.1% by September 2025.

The data also points to a gap in portfolio deepening. As of March 2025, UCBs had approximately 30 lakh live retail borrowers, of which around 1.7 lakh, or about 6%, also had a commercial credit footprint. During April to September 2025, nearly 3,000 such borrowers sourced new commercial loans from PSU banks, with total sanctioned amounts of about ₹724 crore, including approximately ₹442 crore extended to low- and medium-risk borrowers.

Overall, the sustained growth of UCBs reflects a sector that is strengthening its balance sheets while accelerating efforts to modernise its operations and risk frameworks. Backed by improving asset quality, disciplined credit expansion, and rising adoption of technology‑enabled processes, UCBs are increasingly well positioned to serve their core constituencies with greater efficiency and resilience.

“As UCBs continue to balance their community-rooted strengths with data‑led decisioning and regulatory alignment, they are set to play an increasingly meaningful role in supporting inclusive economic growth and deepening formal credit penetration across India’s urban and semi‑urban landscape,” Mr. Jain said.