Rail employees in India who bank with the largest lender in the country are set to get discounts on gold coins with their salary packages, as banks ramp up lending against gold.
Author: Shivom Seth Posted: Thursday , 16 Feb 2012 MUMBAI - In a bid to further lure consumers to the yellow metal, India's biggest commercial bank, the State Bank of India, has turned out a special salary package for railway employees. Though employees can avail themselves of car loans, home loans and personal loans at reduced interest rates, the biggest draw is the discount offered on gold coin purchases. For a country where the love for gold is almost a religion, the State Bank of India, which is the largest lender in the country, has decided to discount the purchase of gold coins for every salary holder. "Gold has become an inseparable part of the Indian society and fused into the psyche of every Indian. The special privileges will be offered to the employees of the Indian railways who draw their salary from the State Bank of India," said Venugopal Reddy, manager at the administrative unit of the bank. With approximately 1.44 million employees, Indian Railways is the world's second largest employer and the largest employer among public sector undertakings in the country. A Brahmo, chief personnel officer of South Western Railway, said Indian railways has the fourth largest railway network in the world. "Around 46% of railway employees draw their salaries from State Bank of India while the remaining 54% employees get their wages from other banks," he said. Though some banks also offer discounts on purchases of gold coins, this solely depends on the denomination. The State Bank of India is aiming to ensure that employees get a higher discount if they buy gold on their salary account. Moreover, employee numbers are expected to swell with 7,000 more staffers joining the ranks in the near future. Read more: http://chasvoice.blogspot.com/2012/02/state-bank-of-india-lures-rail.html#ixzz1mfu1DgK2
