Public-sector banks asked to submit three-year business plans by March-end

According to the finance ministry's order, the business plans should cover strategies related to increasing low-cost deposits, raising capital, and resolving bad loans, among other things

The Centre on March 18 directed Public-Sector Banks (PSBs) to submit their business plans till 2026-2027 (FY27) by the end of March, The Economic Times reported. The proposed plans will then be assessed on a quarterly basis by government-nominated directors on the banks' boards, the report said, citing an official.

The business plans will be required to cover strategies related to increasing low-cost deposits, raising capital, resolving bad loans, improvement in cybersecurity and financial outreach, the report added.

Earlier this month, the finance ministry had directed PSBs to conduct a thorough review of their gold loan portfolios. Instances of non-compliance with regulatory norms prompted the action.

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) urged banks to undertake a thorough review of the last two-year period from January 1, 2022 to January 31, 2024 to ensure that all gold loans were disbursed in compliance with regulatory requirements and internal bank policies.

The government's directive asked the PSBs to rectify anomalies related to gold loan disbursement without collateral, fee and interest collection, as well as closure of gold loan accounts, and cash repayments.

The country's biggest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), has a gold loan portfolio of Rs 30,881 crore as of December 2023, while another major PSB, Punjab National Bank's gold loan exposure stood at Rs 5,315 crore. Bank of Baroda was at Rs 3,682 crore at the end of the third quarter for FY24.

According to the RBI norms, banks or gold loan finance firms can provide only 75 per cent of the value of the jewellery. However, relaxation was provided during the COVID-19 period to mitigate hardship.

The RBI had increased the permissible Loan to Value (LTV) for loans sanctioned by banks against pledges of gold ornaments and jewellery for non-agricultural purposes to 90 per cent in August 2020 from the earlier 75 per cent. This relaxation was available till March 31, 2021.