Allahabad Bank is planning to offer gold loans nationally. Currently, gold loan scheme is operational in four southern states – Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu; and, in Kolkata. It is expected to be rolled out in Nagpur by the end of this month, AK Chatterjee, general manager of the bank said. The gold loan scheme was rolled out in Kolkata on 1 July across 25 branches in the city and suburban areas. Gold loans account for approximately Rs 200 crore of its retail loan portfolio that stands at around Rs 19,000 crore. The bank would sanction a maximum of Rs 5 lakh as loan against gold jewellery with an annual interest of 12.5%. The bank claims that loans would be sanctioned in half-an-hour.
