ICICI Bank will auction this month gold jewellery weighing about 25 kg, pledged by about 100 borrowers, who have defaulted on their payments.
The auction would be conducted by the bank branches across Uttar Pradesh on March 16, the bank said in a public notice on Wednesday.
While neither the exact value of the gold ornaments being auctioned nor the outstanding loans could be ascertained, an equivalent amount of gold would be worth over Rs.7 crore at current prices.
It is a usual practise to take gold loans by pledging jewellery with banks. But such ornaments can be auctioned by banks after giving sufficient notice to the borrower in case of payment defaults.
The notice further said: “In the event any surplus amount is realised from this auction, the same will be refunded to the borrower concerned, and if there is any deficit post the auction, the balance amount shall be recovered from the borrower through appropriate legal proceedings.” The bank said the auction would take place at ICICI Bank branches in areas including Varanasi, Lucknow, Meerut, Kanpur, Gorakhpur and Delpanderva.
Interested parties are required to submit a refundable security deposit of Rs.20,000 at ICICI Bank for participating in the auction process.
In case the winning bidder refuses to accept the jewellery after the auction, then the security money would be forfeited.