CSB Bank bets on further gold loan growth after healthy third quarter performance

CSB Bank reported earnings for the December-ended quarter with healthy loan growth which has driven the strong operational performance while the gold loan book looks strong, weakness in the SME segment has continued.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 after the earnings report, Pralay Mondal, CEO of the bank said that CSB will continue to focus on its gold loan portfolio to secure its future. The bank has had very strong growth in its gold loan portfolio and has seen a robust increase in tonnage.

“In the short run, gold will become an important portfolio for us because the credit costs are very low, operating costs are already baked in and it has very high margins. So, from that perspective, since our branches and all other infrastructure, and distribution processes are in place, we expect to get better businesses from gold loans and hence invest in technology and other franchise which will become the growth engine for the next 7-8 years,” he said.