The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has announced plans to extend its ‘Gold Loans’ facility to its widespread branch network island-wide, to offer the masses an opportunity to use their gold to mobilise funds with one of the country’s most stable financial institutions.
The bank has already enabled 108 branches with the necessary infrastructure and deployed specially trained staff to offer Gold Loan facilities to customers. Commercial Bank plans to offer the Gold Loan facility through its entire network of branches except supermarket banking units by August this year, it said in a statement.
This new thrust into Gold Loans is backed by a commitment to offer up to 80 % of the gold value, in the form of jewellery, biscuits or bars, and a lower-than-average interest rate of 14 % per annum (1.16 % per month) on the advances, Commercial Bank’s Assistant General Manager (Personal Banking) Vimal Fernando said.
“We believe this is the opportune time for a bank of the stature and presence of Commercial Bank to expand customer access to this product,” Mr. Fernando said, pointing out that gold prices continue to appreciate, offering an opportunity for idle gold to be utilised to raise funds, while at the same time securing safe storage courtesy of the Bank.
He said the Bank was equipping an average of 18 new branches each month to offer Gold Loans, and had achieved a five-fold increase in the value of advances through this facility over the last two years.
Branches offering Gold Loans are provided with a separate, dedicated cubicle to protect the privacy of customers and are supplied with the best equipment in the market to test and weigh gold, Mr. Fernando said. The units are staffed by personnel trained by industry experts to advise and serve customers. |
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