MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India tightened restrictions on gold lending on Tuesday for regional rural banks and said the curbs extend also to units of gold exchange traded funds (ETF) and units of gold mutual funds, to tame demand for the yellow metal and rein-in a record high current account gap.
The RBI said regional rural banks should not lend against gold jewellery, gold ornaments and gold coins weighing above 50 grams, a norm already applicable for all other banks. (Reporting by Neha Dasgupta and Suvashree Dey Choudhury)