Private sector banks have seen a sharp rise in slippages in unsecured retail loans—such as personal loans, credit cards, education financing—during the second half of FY 2024‑25 (Sept 2024–Mar 2025). They accounted for 78.9 % of all fresh slippages in this category, compared to just 11.3% for public sector banks and 6.4% for small finance banks .

Unsecured retail loans made up 25 % of all retail loans and 8.3 % of total bank advances . The gross NPA ratio for unsecured retail loans rose to 1.8 %, well above the 1.2 % for the overall retail portfolio . Private banks now hold 52.6 % of all GNPA in unsecured retail lending, while PSU banks hold 40.5% .

Banks—especially private ones—have also been using write-offs heavily (81.9% of unsecured NPA reduction in FY 25) to manage impaired assets, which may be masking underlying quality issues .

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