Chennai: Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company (Chola), the financial services arm of the Murugappa Group, is looking to double its assets under management (AUM) over the next five years. The NBFC’s AUM stood at Rs 2.4 lakh crore in FY26, marking a growth of 21% compared with nearly Rs 2 lakh crore in FY25. “It will take anywhere between three to five years to double the AUM,” its president and CFO, Arul Selvan D, told TOI. The company added about Rs 1.3 lakh crore of AUM between FY23 and FY26. “We have been targeting growth in the range of 20% to 23% YoY. Towards this, we have built a diversified portfolio,” he added. The company offers eight products, including vehicle finance, home loans and loan against property (LAP), with gold loans being the latest addition, launched last year. The gold loan portfolio stood at Rs 1,813 crore in FY26, accounting for about 1% of total AUM. On a sequential basis, the portfolio rose by nearly 84% (QoQ) from Rs 986 crore as of Dec 2025. “In Q4 (FY26), gold prices also increased, which had a favourable impact on loan values, as the same quantity of pledged gold fetched higher amounts compared to earlier periods,” he said. As part of expanding the gold loan portfolio, the company is adding 300 new branches. Currently, it has a network of 1,761 branches across the country, including 119 dedicated to gold loans. “We will add another 100-odd branches under the general category, where it will initially be vehicle finance, followed by LAP and home loans,” Selvan said.
