FM: No big lapses found in gold loan portfolios of PSBs

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that public sector banks were asked to conduct a comprehensive audit of gold loan portfolios to ensure full regulatory compliance, but, no major lapses had been reported.

- Harsh Kumar

Sitharaman was replying to the discussion on the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Later, the Rajya Sabha passed the Bill by voice vote. The Lok Sabha (LS) had already passed the Bill in December last year.

The Bill proposes 19 amendments to banking laws, including the Reserve Bank of India Act, the Banking Regulation Act, and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act.

The gold loan portfolio of banks rose by 71.3 per cent year-on-year until December of the current financial year (2024-25) to ₹1.72 trillion, compared to 17 per cent growth a year ago, driven by rising gold prices and a slowdown in unsecured loans following an increase in risk weights last year.