GST cuts boosts retail loan demand but young borrowers nervous: Cibil

The GST rate rationalisation has boosted demand for retail credit, but the younger cohort seems to be cautious on borrowings, a leading credit information company said on Monday. Delinquencies in micro-loans against property and the two-wheeler loan segment have risen during the three months ended September, TransUnion CIBIL said. “Retail demand has seen a boost post implementation of GST 2.0, particularly in the vehicles and consumer durable loan segments,” it said in a quarterly report.

Going by enquiry volumes, the share of those aged between 26-35 accounted for 38 per cent of the loans as against 40 per cent in Q2 in the last two fiscal years, it said. Those aged less than 25 years have also seen lesser demand for credit during the quarter, it said, adding that enquiries from this segment slipped to 19 per cent in Q2FY26 from 20 per cent in the year-ago period.

The share of the older cohort of borrowers aged between 36-55 increased in the September quarter, it added. Share of new-to-credit customers in the origination volumes slipped by 1 percentage point to 16 per cent in Q2, it said. The growth in credit-active consumers slowed down to 9 per cent in September 2025, which is the result of lender preference for existing customers, it said.

From an asset quality perspective, the report said, two-wheeler loans saw a 0.22 per cent jump on loans overdue for over 90 days to 2.2 per cent, while the same for micro-LAP, which are taken by entrepreneurs, shot up by 0.45 per cent to 3.3 per cent. “GST 2.0 was a much-needed step to stimulate economic growth, and its positive impact is evident in the improvement of consumer sentiment and the upward trend in credit demand,” its managing director and chief executive Bhavesh Jain said.