Odisha: Jana Small Finance Bank Junks Gold Loan Fraud Slur  

The Jana Small Finance Bank has dismissed all the allegations brought against it about exploitation of public in the name of gold loans. A report completely based on the allegations of customers was recently broadcasted by the Odisha Television Limited (OTV) in this regard. 

Responding to the report, the bank on Sunday refuted all the charges in a press statement and claimed that it has a well-defined policy on gold loan customer communication, including overdue notices and pre-auction intimation.

The Jana Bank has stated that its policy on gold loan includes SMS alerts to customers, first formal notice as a reminder to pay back outstanding dues, final formal notice clearly stating the deadline to settle dues and the date of the auction, pre-auction intimation, public auction notice in one English and one Odia publication with the customer name clearly mentioned.

It has further clarified that even though customers make repeated rounds of the bank, the auctioned gold cannot be returned. "Because the gold items have already been sold off. Prior to the auction of the gold, the customer has been contacted hundreds times and also issued reminder notices. All the processes have been done legally,” an official of the bank said.