Gold loans are secured loans where the customer pledges the gold ornaments they hold as a collateral deposit against the money that they are going to receive. They are usually taken for short term financial obligations. They are secured loans whereas personal loans are unsecured. The gold loan requires a collateral deposit, where the gold itself is pledged against the money the customer receives, while in personal loans collateral deposits are not required. Gold loans allow greater disbursal amount; through the gold loan, the borrower can draw up to 5 crores while personal loan allows disbursal up to just 40 lakhs. The lower interest rate of the gold loan is another feature that has convinced people to avail gold loan facilities widely for their financial requirements. The procedures included in the application for a gold loan are very simple. The customer has to first approach a lender, the lender will value the gold and calculate the maximum amount the customer can borrow. The customer will be required to fill a loan application for this and submit necessary documents such as copies of ID proofs and valid address proof. Once the value is calculated, the money is instantly disbursed and the customers can use it for their intended purpose immediately. Anybody over the age of 18 can apply for a gold loan provided he or she is the actual owner of the ornaments they present. The banks are not required to consider factors such as income, age, credit score, banking history, etc.

Objective

The important objective of this study is to analyze the customer satisfaction towards gold loans offered by Manappuram Finance Ltd. in Kanniyakumari district.

Methodology

Area of study

The area chosen for the study is Kanniyakumari district.

Sources of data

The study is confined with both primary and secondary data.

Primary Data

The primary data are collected through a well structured interview schedule. Direct interview was also conducted among 30 gold loan borrowers of Manappuram Finance in Kanniyakumari district.

Secondary Data

The secondary data have been mainly collected from the books, journals, magazines, and also from the internet.

Sampling Design

In order to study the customer satisfaction towards gold loans, 30 borrowers are selected as samples using convenient sampling method.

Statistical Tools Used

The collected data were analyzed with the help of various statistical measures such as Percentage and Chi-Square Test. 

The formula for Chi – square is

Hypothesis

On the basis of the objective of the study, the following null hypothesis was developed for the purpose of the present study.

Ho. There is no relationship between the personal factors and the level of satisfaction towards gold loans offered by Manappuram Finance.

Analysis of Data

The data collected to study the objectives of the study are analyzed using suitable statistical tools and presented in the tables given below:

Personal profile of the borrowers

The personal profile of the respondents is considered for the study to know about the status of the people in the society and presented in the table given below.

Table 1. Personal Profile of the respondents

Sources : Primary Data

Gender : The  above  table  depicts that,  11(37 Percent) of  the  borrowers  are  male  and  the remaining 19(63 percent) of  the  respondents  are  female.

Age : Regarding the age of the respondents 8(27 Percent) of  the  respondents  come under the  age  group  of  up to 35 years, 16(53 Percent)  of  them belong  to  the  age  group  of 35 – 55 years and the remaining, 6(20 Percent) of  the  respondents  come under the  age  group  of above 55 years.

Marital Status: From the above table it is found that 23(77 Percent) of the respondents are married and 7(23 Percent) of the respondents are unmarried.

Education qualification : It is revealed from the above table that out of 30 respondents 21(70 Percent) of  the  respondents are  under graduates,  4(13 Percent) of  the  respondents  are  Post Graduates and  the remaining 4(17 Percent) of  the  respondents  are having other qualifications such as high school, higher secondary education diploma, technical education etc.

Occupation: From  the  above  table  it  is  clear  that, 17(56 Percent) of  the  respondents are  private employees, 2(7 Percent) of them are Government employees and the remaining 11(37 Percent  of  the  respondents  are house wives, students etc.

Monthly Income: It is inferred from the above table that, 23(37 Percent) of the respondents are earning Up to Rs.25000 per month, 4(6 Percent) of the respondents are earning Rs.25,001 – 50000, and 3(7 Percent) of the respondents are earning above Rs 50,000 per month.

Monthly Expenses: Regarding the monthly expenses of the borrowers it is found that, 8(27 Percent) of the respondents are spending up to Rs.5000 per month, 12(40 Percent) of the respondents are spending Rs.5,001 – 10000, and the remaining 10(33 Percent) of the respondents are spending above Rs 10,000 per month.

Opinion about Level of Satisfaction towards Gold loans

The respondents are also classified on the basis of their opinion about the level of satisfaction towards gold loans offered by Manappuram finance and presented in the following table.

Table 2. Level of Satisfaction towards Gold loans

Source: Primary Data

It is noted that 8(27 percent) of the borrowers are highly satisfied with the gold loans, 19(63 percent) of the respondents are satisfied medium level and the remaining 3(10 percent) respondents opined that their satisfaction level towards the gold loan is low.

Chi – square analysis

An attempt has been made to analyze the personal factors and the level of satisfaction using chi – square test.

Table 3. Personal factors and the level of satisfaction using chi – square test.

It is inferred that the personal factors such as gender, marital status, monthly income and monthly expenses are dependent on the level of satisfaction and the factor age is independent on the satisfaction level of the borrowers towards the gold loans.

Findings of the Study

The major findings of the study are:

• The researcher found that the majority 19(63 percent) of the respondents are female.
• Most 16(53 Percent) of the customers belong to the age group of 35 – 55 years.
• It is found that the majority 23(77 Percent) of the respondents are married.
• From the total 30 respondents 21(70 Percent) of the respondents are under graduates.
• The majority 17(56 Percent) of the respondents are private employees.
• Regarding the monthly income of the respondents it is found that 23(37 Percent) of the respondents are earning up to Rs.25000 per month.
• Regarding the monthly expenses of the borrowers it is found that, the majority 12(40 Percent) of the respondents are spending Rs. 5,001 – 10000 per month.
• The personal factors such as gender, marital status, monthly income and monthly expenses are dependent on the level of satisfaction and the factor age is independent on the satisfaction level of the borrowers towards the gold loans.

Conclusion

It is concluded from the above study that the majority of the borrowers are satisfied towards the gold loans offered by the Manappuram Finance Limited in the study area. The customer service rendered by the NBFC is a key factor that leads to the satisfaction of the customers and the respondents prefer the gold loans than any other loans.  It is also found that there is a significant association between the personal factors of the customers and their level of satisfaction towards gold loans.