Padmaja Reddy backs away from microfin, goes for gold

Microlending veteran Padmaja Reddy is exiting unsecured business by fiscal end to focus on gold loans, transitioning her firm Keertana Finserv to a 94% secured portfolio. Citing a “structural crisis” in microfinance, Reddy aims for Keertana to be a fully secured lender with gold loans comprising 95% of its assets under management by FY25.