The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday directed IIFL Finance Ltd. to cease and desist, with immediate effect from sanctioning or disbursing gold loans or assigning/ securitising/ selling any of its gold loans. Business restrictions have been imposed on this non banking finance company (NBFC) as the regulator has stumbled upon certain material supervisory concerns pertaining to the gold-loan portfolio of the company.
However, the company has been allowed to continue to service its existing gold loan portfolio through usual collection and recovery processes.
“An inspection of the company was carried out by the Reserve Bank with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Certain material supervisory concerns were observed in the gold loan portfolio of the company, including serious deviations in assaying and certifying purity and net weight of the gold at the time of sanction of loans and at the time of auction upon default,” the RBI said.
“Breaches in Loan-to-Value ratio; significant disbursal and collection of loan amount in cash far in excess of the statutory limit; non-adherence to the standard auction process; and lack of transparency in charges being levied to customer accounts,” were also found.
“These practices, apart from being regulatory violations, also significantly and adversely impact the interest of the customers. Over the last few months, the RBI has been engaging with the senior management and the statutory auditors of the company on these deficiencies; however, no meaningful corrective action has been evidenced so far,” the RBI said.
“This has necessitated the imposition of business restrictions with immediate effect, in the overall interest of customers,” it added,
The regulator said these supervisory restrictions would be reviewed upon completion of a special audit to be instituted by the RBI and after rectification by the company of the special audit findings and the findings of RBI Inspection, to the satisfaction of RBI.
“This business restriction is without prejudice to any other Regulatory or Supervisory action, that may be initiated by the RBI against the company,” the central bank added.
