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Muthoot has grown steadily since the early 1950s. It has more than 5,000 branches serving 250,000 customers a day,
Muthoot自20世紀50年代初以來一直在穩步增長。其有五千多家分公司，每天為25萬客戶提供服務，
ranging from construction workers to IT professionals. Total loans exceeded $6bn in the year to March.
客戶群包括建筑工人和IT專業人士。截至今年3月的一年中，貸款總額超過60億美元。
Muthoot is the largest of the formal gold-backed lenders: collectively, their assets come to $40bn.
Muthoot是正規黃金擔保貸款機構中規模最大的一家：其資產總額達到400億美元。
Smaller lenders, which make loans worth twice that, charge annual interest rates as high as 50%.
規模較小的放貸機構的貸款價值是它的兩倍，年利率高達50%。
Muthoot charges 12 to 24%, as do its direct rivals. Banks, which are tiptoeing into the business, charge a bit less.
Muthoot收取12到24%的費用，其直接對手也是如此。悄步涉及該行業的銀行，收取的費用稍微低一些。
When the price of gold rises, as has happened for much of the past few months, so does a client's ability to borrow.
當黃金價格上漲，就像過去幾個月所發生的那樣，顧客的借款能力也會隨之提升。
But lenders' greatest risk is that the gold price falls, undermining collateral values.
但出借方最大的風險是，黃金價格下跌，破壞抵押品價值。
To provide a buffer, regulators had required that loans be less than 75% of the value of collateral.
為了提供緩沖，監管方要求貸款低于抵押品價值的75%。
On August 6th the limit for banks was raised to 90%.
8月6日，對銀行的限制被提高到90%。
But the gold price fell by 5% on August 11th—a reminder of why the buffer exists. Muthoot follows the old rule.
但8月11日，黃金價格下跌5%——提醒了大家這個緩沖存在的原因。Muthoot遵守著舊規則。
The greatest virtue of gold-backed finance, though, is how neatly it fits with India's long-standing love for the yellow metal.
然而，以黃金為后盾的金融，其最大的優點在于，它與印度長期以來對黃金的喜愛非常吻合。
In the past decade, despite high tariffs, India has imported 8,400 tonnes of it,
在過去十年中，盡管關稅高，但印度進口了8400公噸黃金，
more than the holdings of America's Federal Reserve, the world's largest repository. Windfalls are often channelled into gold.
超過了世界最大儲備銀行美聯儲的持有量。意外之財往往會變成黃金。
Jewellery bought in times of plenty becomes collateral when things go wrong— "the poor person's insurance", says Mr Muthoot.
在經濟繁榮時期購買的珠寶，一旦出了形式出現問題，就成了抵押品——“窮人的保險”，Muthoot說到。
What makes his business especially lucrative is that borrowers work so hard to redeem their collateral,
讓他的生意特別賺錢的是，借款人會非常努力地贖回他們的抵押品，
not just to help guard against future troubles, but to adorn the good times to come.
不僅僅是為了防范未來的麻煩，也是為了裝飾未來美好的日子。
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