Private lender Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) on Wednesday announced its entry into the bullion business.
The bank in a statement said that the gems and jewellery business is an important part of India's economy and KVB is now in a position to enhance its support to this important industry.
As a trial base, the bank delivered its first shipment to clients in Chennai and Coimbatore recently. It is now in the process of ramping up the business to fully extend support to its existing set of customers across the nation, it said.
The bank mentioned that the new business has been launched after ensuring the highest quality risk management.
The gems and jewellery business contributes about 7 per cent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and 15 per cent to total merchandise exports.
India is the second largest consumer of gold in the world. Demand for gold in the country stood at about 700 tonnes during 2019, the bank said.