Gold Loan: In the last few years, the trend of taking loan by pledging gold in times of need has increased rapidly. A report by the Reserve Bank of India states that a record gold loan has been taken in the second quarter of the financial year 2024-25. Amidst all this, the Reserve Bank of India has also expressed concern about fraud in gold loans. The RBI report has expressed concern over irregularities among some supervised institutions (SEs) involved in gold loans.
Keeping in mind the fraud in gold loans, the Reserve Bank of India had issued a circular on 30 September 2024. In which the Reserve Bank of India has requested the Supervised Institutions (SE) to review their policies and processes for gold loans. It also talks about monitoring the work done through outsourcing.
It has been said in the report of Reserve Bank of India that non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) dominate in gold loans. RBI said that by March 2024, the share of NBFCs in the total gold loans distributed by banks and NBFCs was 59.9 percent. This confirms their important role in meeting the demand for loans against gold jewelery and jewellery.
It has been told in the report of Reserve Bank of India that the demand for gold loan has increased in 2024, on the other hand the demand for personal loan has decreased. If we look at the figures of two-three years ago, the demand for loans from microfinance and self-help groups has also decreased. Due to all this, RBI has said to increase monitoring on gold loans. After all this, it can be said that there is a need for more awareness and strict regulation to prevent irregularities in the gold loan sector and ensure the safety of consumers.
