Festive Season Starts,Banks woos Customers with lucrative offers

State Bank of India (SBI) confirms that sanctions for home loans and car loans have picked up smartly since the start of Navratri.

SBI is looking to increase the sourcing of home loans to R300 crore per day and sanctioning about R260-270 crore over the current festive season.

While the bank hasn’t really trimmed interest rates —it offers the most competitive rate for home and car loans — processing fees have been waived for auto loans. Also, last year, State bank had tightened the eligibility criteria for SBI car loans but these have been eased since then.

According to latest Reserve Bank of India data, consumer loans in the banking system grew at 12.8% year-on-year to R10,79,200 crore compared with the 7.6% credit growth to industries in August.

Prepay your personal loans, Take top -up

The home loan and personal loan cannot be clubbed since both are different products. You can ask your home loan lender to give you a top-up loan on the security of the house and use that to prepay your personal loan. You will be eligible for a top-up loan only if your income is sufficient to repay both the home loan and the top-up loan and the property value is sufficiently large to provide an appropriate margin for both loans put together. If your existing home loan lender is not willing to consider your request, you can shift your loan to another lender with a request for a top-up loan which is likely to come at the same rate on the home loan.
* I had applied for a credit card from the bank in which I have a savings account. But they have rejected my application. What could be the reason behind such action?
Before issuing credit cards or for that matter any credit facilities, banks obtain the credit report of the applicant from the Credit Information Bureau of India Ltd (CIBIL). A bank can reject the credit card application if the applicant has a bad credit record or inadequate income. You are entitled to know the reason for the rejection of your application from the bank. Ask for a formal rejection letter and if the bank refuses, then you can file a complaint to the banking ombudsman at bankingombudsman.rbi.org.in. You can get a copy of your credit report from CIBIL using this link www.cibil.com/ credit-score to download the form.
* I am a 44-year-old businessman, with an annual inco-me of Rs 3.5 lakh. I have a life insurance cover of Rs 12 lakh. Please tell me if this cover is enough; if not please suggest me an action plan.
Considering your age and annual income, you need to take a life cover of at least 12 times of your annual income — i.e Rs 42 lakh. So you need to take an additional life cover worth Rs 30 lakh. A term insurance policy for a 44-year-old non-smoker for 25-year term — if bought online — would be cost you upwards of Rs 11,289.
I have been investing in Reliance mutual fund growth SIP since last three years. The return is not satisfactory. I can continue my contribution to SIP for the next three to five years. Is it advisable to continue my SIP or withdraw in loss?
Never stop an SIP when the market is down. Generally, investments made in the downturn reduce your average cost and produces excellent returns over the long term. So you should definitely continue the SIP though you can review whether the fund chosen by you is still appropriate or not. Reliance MF-Growth is a mid-cap fund. By looking into the fund performance, it has not beaten its respective benchmark returns.

For housing loans, now pay a larger pie of property value

Prospective home loan seekers will now have to shell out 25% to 30% of the value of a property as against 20% until now with the Reserve Bank of India asking banks to exclude stamp duty, registration fee and other levies from total cost.
Effectively, this means that the 'loan to value' ratio has come down by 5-10% for home loans from what it was earlier.
Stamp duty and other levies vary from state to state. In Maharashtra, for example, stamp duty is 5%, while in Bangalore it is 8%, Kolkata 7% and New Delhi 4%.
In Mumbai, value added tax (1%), service tax (2.6%), registration fee and stamp duty add up to 9-10% of the cost of the property.
Experts believe the RBI's latest move is aimed at curbing speculation in the property market. They point out that in December 2010, in order to check excessive lending by banks, RBI had directed commercial banks against lending more than 80 per cent of the value of a loan against property above Rs 20 lakh and not more than 90 per cent for loans below Rs 20 lakh.
While imposing the new set of curbs, the RBI has said, "This overstates the realisable value of the property, as stamp duty, registration and other documentation charges are not realisable. Consequently, the margin stipulated gets diluted."
Property experts say the RBI's move does not bode well for developers as it may lead to a further drop in home sales. "In the short run, the decision will put additional strain on the home buyer, at least till economic conditions improve," said Pranab Datta, vice chairman of Knight Frank, a property consultants firm.
"It is unfortunate that inspite of clarity on importance of the need to provide shelter, RBI has issued such anti-housing guidelines," said Lalit Kumar Jain, national president of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India.
However, Om Ahuja, CEO (Residential) with JLL, another property consultants firm, believes the new notification will not impact home sales.
"So far, individuals used to put in 20% of own money. Now they will have to pay for stamp duty and registration from their own pockets. I think borrowers can do that without much issue as their loan amount also decreases," said Ahuja.

Trends of loans in January 2012

In year 2011, RBI kept increasing rates till Nov and just by the year end, they gave signals that rates may come down.
So in year 2012, here is what we expect in the loans market.

• Personal loans Trends

Personal loans  rates were stable in between 14%-40%. This range is defined by where do you work, how much you earn and what is your credit history.
So If you work for a top brand and your salary is above 75000 per month, you can get a personal loan for 14% but if you salary is 10000 and you work in a small company, you can expect 30-40% rate of Interest.
Personal loan are given on fixed rates so RBI fluctuation during your loan tenure doesn't affect your rates for your ongoing personal loan.This means once you take a Personal loan and the rate is given by the bank, this will not change - may whatever is the market condition.
For year 2012- we see Banks may tighten there norms for personal loans as they see that recession may hit India and Personal loan being unsecured loan, Banks will like to take a risk averse actions and may give it to only where they are sure of that they will get it back.
The rates may reduce if RBI eases rates and liquidity , but may only happen for top executives and best companies.

• Home Loans Trends

In year rates touched 11% due to many hikes pushed by Rbi actions on liquidity etc.In another major move the regularity body on home loans issues guidelines to housing finance companies to go away with prepayment charges. The housing loan companies did and some Banks also had to follow the step of giving away prepayment charges.
This is one major help for customers who can now shift to alternate Bank/housing finance companies if there existing Bank is charging at a higher rate.
For year 2012, we expect Rbi to loosen the liquidity and for existing home loan customers- rates may come down. We also see rates coming down for new home loan customers.

• Car loans Trends

In year 2012 - in the first quarter 50 new cars are set to be launched in India.This will bring a lot more push to sell more cars and thus leading to more Car loans.
Car loan rates are fixed , so for customers rates do not change during the tenure of the loan. For new car loan customers- rates may come down with liquidity ease measures expected in the first three months.
The rates may come down also for used car loan market.
Thus in end, the rates will come down this year-But how much will depend on the inflation in the country and RBI measures.So expect a better year for loan takers but anyways taking loan

Exploring better alternatives for Personal Loans

Acquiring a personal loan is intended for financing is intended for financing and managing a person’s financial needs. For taking finance, a person may apply for a loan or a credit card to purchase shares or any asset like home, vehicle etc. But, before deciding about the financial goals, a person must assess his or her financial situation. While using credit card or personal loan in financing, proper plan for management of debt burden is imperative.
Correct information should be given in the credit report. The most common errors that occur in the credit report are outdated information, which can stay on the report for seven years, and inaccurate marking like erroneous late payment, repossession and bankruptcy.
Prior to applying for a loan with a financial company, it must be ensured that best rates and terms are selected especially for first time borrowers. First time borrowers must initially determine how much to borrow and for how long to take for repayment. Lenders usually impose higher interest rates for loans on small amounts and so it makes better sense to apply for higher amounts of loans and use the surplus cash to invest with higher rate of interest. If that is frightening, it is advisable to write a budget of all the expenses including monthly bills and daily living costs. Then the expenses should be subtracted from the net income and 75 percent of the left over amount can be set apart for the monthly loan payment keeping the rest 25 percent as a buffer for other expenses.
In fact, there are viable alternatives to personal financing that can save money. For example homeowners can explore mortgage products and refinancing also will help to some extent. For a relatively lower amount, applying for a credit card can come in handy for people with poor credit if the intention is to pay off the debt in a short span of time. If the application for personal loan has been rejected, it is advisable to wait for one or two months before applying again.
Apart from all these hassles, to avoid dealing with emergency purposes-most of the personal loans are for this purpose -it is good if a small "emergency fund" is developed by entailing a few dollars away every month as savings.

Real Estate and Retail loans fall, Interest Rates hike

RBI found unequal rise in loans and real estate sector, Infrastructure sector. Banks provides lending to NBFC’s at high mass.
Banking regulator not found any clue of explosion in economy, but because of these the trends goes towards asset and liability mismatched.
Banking sectors concerns about inconsistent growth of credit in real estate, Infrastructure, NBFC and retail segment sector.
Bank credit to NBFCs saw 50 per cent growth in 2010-11, compared to last year. Loans to the infrastructure sector may reasonable. According to RBI data, credit growth to NBFCs on a y-o-y basis in September set at 46.2 %, considerably higher than 18.5 % in last year, while loan growth to the commercial real estate sector go up 12.6 % in September, The data also showed personal loans, or retail loans, increased by 15.2 % on an annual basis in September. Most types of loans, personal loan, housing, advances against fixed deposits, advances against shares, bonds and car loans, registered step up growth.
“Growth in infrastructure and personal loans raises risks to the banking sector, as these loans may raise asset-liability mismatches. The RBI also said the rollover risk of maturity of foreign currency convertible bonds may be an issue in need of attention.
Growth Table

	Real Estate	NBFC	Personal loans	Infrastructure
Sep 24,10 over sep 25,09	7.90%	18.50%	8.60%	47.39%
Sep 23,11 over sep 24,10	12.60%	46.20%	15.20%	20.30%
Sep 24,10 over mar 26,10	10.30%	10.80%	5.00%	23.62%
Sep 23,11 over mar 26,11	2.30%	4.70%	3.40%	7.28%

SBI Diwali Offers On loans and Gold 2011

State Bank of India (SBI) has brought many exciting offers this Diwali to help you celebrate the festival of lights in a grand way. These include car loans, home loans and gold sale.
"We are offering the purest form of gold coins at competitive rates in the market. All coins will be available at 1% discount," SBI's (Patna Circle) chief general manager Jeevandas Narayan said at a press conference here on Saturday.
SBI gold coins are available in denominations of 2gm, 4gm, 5gm, 8gm, 10gm, 20gm, and 50gm to suit the demands of customers. Customers can avail discount on all these denominations till October 30, 2011 only. A total of 110 SBI branches in Bihar and Jharkhand will be selling gold coins this festive season.
"We will set up exclusive counters on 'Dhanteras' at all gold coin selling branches to deal with the rush of customers. These branches will be kept open till 9pm on Dhanteras day," Das said. Currently, 2gm gold coin (99.99% pure) costs Rs 5,965 and 50gm coin Rs 1.43 lakh. SBI aims to sell over 50kg of coins on Dhanteras.
The bank also has offers for those wanting to avail car loans. SBI Car loan at an interest rate of 11.25% per annum till the end of this year. It will charge no prepayment penalty and no processing fee for it.
SBI home loan (below Rs 30 lakh) SBI will be charging 10.50%, which is a concession of 0.25%. Among its other features are free personal accident insurance up to Rs 40 lakh and no prepayment penalty.
Jeevandas also announced the launch of Vishwayatra Foreign Travel Card (VFTC) for SBI customers who want to go on foreign tour.
"Customers who have VFTC will get dollars when they use it to withdraw money in the United States. They will get currency of the particular foreign country which they are in. Customers can get these cards at 14 different major SBI branches (where foreign exchange facility are available) in Bihar and Jharkhand," Das added.
SBI has installed four permanent Self Service Kiosks (SSKs) to make transactions easy this festive season. One SSK each has been installed at its branches at Gandhi Maidan, Kadamkuan, Telco Colony in Jamshedpur and Ranchi branch. SSKs will perform various non-financial transactions, including pass book printing.
The bank has also come out with offers for NRIs, under which they can open accounts with SBI at zero balance and also avail various other services.

liberalisation policies for NRIs and residents

In a move that might make life a little easier for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), the RBI, in September, announced a series of liberalisation policies with respect to foreign exchange transactions. Here are a few such changes that will simplify the process of remittances both in and out of the country.
Convenience of joint holding
Resident Indians were earlier not allowed to hold a joint local savings bank account with their NRI relatives. A savings account holder in India, for instance, was not allowed to have his/her NRI spouse as a joint account holder. This has changed now. A resident individual is now permitted to include close NRI relatives as joint holders on a ‘former' or ‘survivor' basis. This is applicable for Exchange Earners' Foreign currency (EEFC) accounts and Resident Foreign Currency (RFC) accounts of the local resident, as well. However, the former or survivor clause means that the NRI joint account holder cannot operate the account during the lifetime of the local resident. The move, nevertheless, helps secure another person to immediately operate the account in the event of sudden demise of the local account-holder.
Another, more significant, move by the RBI is to allow a local resident to be a joint holder for NRE/FCNR accounts held by NRIs/ Persons of Indian Origin (PIO). For instance, your son living in the US will now be able to include you as a joint account holder, on a ‘former' or survivor' basis for his NRE account. You can continue to operate the account with a power of attorney, even during the lifetime of the NRI. Before this change, NRE accounts could have a local resident power of attorney holder but not a local joint account-holder.
Gift liberally
Are you a savvy investor, wanting to give away wealth-building gifts? You can now do it more liberally. A person resident in India can now transfer securities such as shares/convertible debentures, by way of gift, to any person outside India, up to $50,000 in a financial year. This limit was earlier $25,000 in a calendar year. Note the difference here - the transfer period will be a12-month period from April to March and not January to December.
If you do not care much for shares, fret not, for you can gift in Indian rupees too. A resident Indian can now make a rupee gift to NRI/PIO who is a close relative, provided it is within the overall limit of $200,000 of outward remittance permitted in a financial year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme of the RBI. The change here is that such gift can be made through a crossed rupee cheque or an electronic transfer to the Non-Resident Ordinary Rupee account (NRO account) of the NRI/PIO. Earlier, such a credit was not possible in rupee terms in to an NRO account.

Lend in rupees
You can now also lend to your NRI/PIO relative in rupees within the overall limit of $200,000 an annum. This however, comes with a few strings. One, the loan shall be interest-free and have a repayment schedule of not less than one year. Two, the loan shall be utilised only for the borrower's (an NRI/PIO) personal requirements for his own business purpose in India. Such business shall not include any activities related to chit fund/ Nidhi company, agriculture or plantation activities or trading in transferable development rights. Get Info on Personal Loans Online and apply.
Such loan can be credited to the borrower's NRO account in India and the loan amount shall not be remitted outside India. Repayment can be made through normal banking channels or through the borrower's NRO/NRE/FCNR account. The borrower can also sell shares or securities or any immovable property (against which loan was granted) to repay the loan.

Benefits of online Personal loans or Unsecured loans

Online personal loan is one of the latest options for people who need cash fast and who can’t afford to slow down their lifestyle in order to get it. Applying for this kind of loan is easy because they can be done from home or from work through a simple and secure online application process. Rather than risking financial penalties that could leave a checking account and the negative even after payday, one of these online loans will control costs while helping people pay their bills on time.
Bad credit personal loans are specially designed to provide people with the cash they need without allowing past financial problems to cause roadblocks. These small personal loans are designed with less stringent requirements than most banks and other lenders, so more people can get the cash they need and spite of past problems. These loans are a good alternative to secured personal loans that usually require an applicant to put up a car title to guarantee the repayment of the loan.
To get a personal loan online, Read More Tips

1. Visit the secure online loans site to fill out a confidential application. This can be done from any computer with Internet access, so you don’t have to lose work or personal time driving to a loan store. The application is usually very sure and can be completed within just a few minutes.
2. Find out if you are approved. Ordinarily a personal loan approval decision comes very quickly, in just a few minutes or seconds. Although a lot of people are nervous at this stage because of their credit history, most of the time, past credit issues are not a problem with this kind of loan.
3. After approval, the money from your loan is deposited directly into your bank account through standard automatic processes. In most cases, the money is available the business day following your loan approval. This speedy delivery of funds eliminates the need to make special trips to cash checks and avoids problems that arise when you’re schedule prevents you from going to the bank.
4. Pay back your loan. This type of online loan is personal because it allows you to decide how long you will take to pay back your loan. We understand that sometimes a single payday is not enough to help you recover from a financial emergency. This way you are in the driver seat, meaning that you can take more or less time to repay depending on your situation.
Easy Application Process
These loans can be applied for online from the comfort of your own home or anywhere else there is an internet connection. They can also be applied for at any time of the day. On top of this, the actual application itself (no matter which lender you choose) is very easy to read, understand, fill out and submit.
If you have bad or no credit at all, you will most likely be denied a loan from a bank. However, when dealing with payday and other types of online personal loans, a negative credit history does not affect your approval process. This is because with payday loans, your job is what acts as collateral for the money you are lent.
Fast Approval
Nothing is worse than waiting to be approved for a bank loan. Sometimes, this can take days. However, online, the approval process is almost instantaneous. No more waiting and watching you financial situation grow out of control. You will be notified the instant your application has been reviewed and accepted.
Click to Here For apply Personal Loan Online

Choose the Best Deals this Diwali for urself

Previous couple of months has been tough for seller and customers due to high interest rates. But with festive season round the corner, festival season is considered auspicious for shopping, which means there will be more buyers.
Special Discounts and offers this diwali–
Discounts available during the festive season
• Buy Any products on Easy EMI’s Options.
• 0% processing Fees on loans and other goods.
• Get Cash Discounts on any purchase.
• Offers on Electronics Goods, Foods, Sweets Etc.
• Reliance Retail, Big Bazaar and Malls offers Discounts on hosted things.
• 0% Interest Rate on Credit Card EMI’s. (*Conditions Apply)
• Banks Charges Low Interest Rates and 0% processing fees on Home, Car and Personal loan to woo Customers.
Finally, But use credit card judiciously. Credit card is not free money but the most expensive money

Tornado Clouds dim Indian Economy

I have just returned home after three weeks of travel. And while it was exciting and eye-opening, it has also been grueling and exhausting. The last leg of my trip took me to Chennai in India.
I have often written to you about how India is booming and galloping along. And while that is true, I have noticed a distinct flaw in the armor now. India is slowing down at a rapid pace. We see that in the industrial production (IP) numbers, we see that in the slowing capital investments and we see that in the overall GDP numbers.
What is rescuing India today is the very healthy monsoon season that has just concluded in September. As I have mentioned a fair bit (about 33 %) of India’s GDP is dependent on monsoons. And we have had a few years of excellent monsoons here. That is holding up the Indian GDP above the 7.5 % or higher.
The industrial side of the equation has been hit hard by the relentless pressure of interest rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Property markets have hit a plateau, if not in slight decline. Even the CD rates have peaked and each incremental raise in rates does not translate into higher savings.
New home loans are running at 12 % and car loan can range 15 % or higher. It is no surprise that new car sales are struggling and home prices are in decline. And despite the pleas of the business community, the RBI stands steadfast in its attempts to crush inflation.
The twin deficits (trade and fiscal) are beginning to get worrisome and I can see the perfect storm developing for India. Despite the Indian rupee not being fully convertible, India is particularly sensitive to the global cues. The world seems to be descending into the second recession (if you can call the recovery a real recovery). And the risk aversion that has gripped the markets has hit India hard.
The Indian rupee has dropped by nearly 15 % in two months. The stock market has also seen enormous amounts of outflows by the Foreign Institutional Investors (FII). Dalal Street has narrowly escaped bear market territory, having declined by 19.5 % during the past three months.
And I do not believe we have seen the worst of it yet. If Europe continues to dilly dally, we will see the euro take another dive. And it will take the Indian rupee and Dalal Street with it.
What frustrates me is that India trades with Europe as others do, but is not directly affected significantly by the European slowdown. It is the market sentiment that is driving the market in frenzied moves.
While in the longer run, India will offer its investments at highly discounted rates, at this time, I would be sitting on the sidelines in cash.
This is actually a good time to send U.S. dollars into India awaiting the next leg up. Cash accounts can earn up to 6.5 % while waiting for the right moment to enter the markets.
I am taking advantage of this pause and sitting on the sidelines with the surplus cash. I have not completely exited the markets and have some long term value investments on the books. But cash allocation is significant portion of my portfolio today.
I do not believe India is down for good. It is pause waiting for the world to calm down a bit. A cooling down period if you want to call it that.
Today’s news of Slovakia holding Europe and Euro to ransom does not help any cause. But of France and Germany can get their act together before the end of October, we may have an incredible Christmas in India.
Source: Moneynews

Get a loan against the rent you are yet to receive

If you have rented out a property to an individual or a company, it can come handy during an emergency. You can get a loan against the rent you are yet to receive in the future from your tenant. Such a loan would be cheaper than a personal loan and your tenant will pay the equated monthly
Installments on your behalf. While most banks provide loans against rent receivables only if property is rented out to reputed firms and banks, some banks such as Indian Overseas Bank and UCO Bank provide a loan even if the premise is rented out to individuals.

Loan features
How much do they provide? Banks provide loans in the range of `50,000 to a few crores. The amount you can avail depends upon the quantum of future rental income that you would receive in keeping with the tenor of the lease.
Repayment tenor: This could be as high as 10 years depending on the lease tenor as well as your repaying capacity.
The cost: The rate of interest varies between banks but in general it is 50-100 basis points less than that charged on personal loans. You also need to pay processing fees which again varies from bank to bank and depends on the loan amount.

THE DOCUMENTATION
Normally, a bank enters into a tripartite agreement with you and your tenant, whereby the tenant agrees to pay the rent directly to the bank. The bank also signs a separate term-loan agreement with you. You would be required to submit a few documents including the tenancy agreement, authorized building plan, title deed of the property, your bank statements , I-T returns and PAN number.

Teaser loans: SBI for talking it out with RBI

Seeking to temper the highly charged-up discourse on the teaser loans and the bank's confrontational approach with the RBI, newly-appointed SBI Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri today said the bank will "engage" with the central bank to lower the higher-than-comfortable provisioning requirement.
"The current provisioning requirement of 2 % (on teaser loans) is a bit difficult for the bank when compared with the earlier 0.40 %," Chaudhuri said at his first media interaction at the bank headquarters this evening.
State Bank of India will "engage with the central bank" to solve the issue, as it does not want to take a belligerent stance against the regulator, he said.
"The current product offers enormous value to the customers, it has helped millions to own homes...as a final settlement we would like to have something which delivers value to the customers and also takes care of the regulatory concerns," he said.
Fearing troubles in repayment, RBI had increased the statutory provision coverage by five times to 2 % on the teaser loans -- launched first by SBI in days of high liquidity -- in the November policy review.
Click to Apply for SBI Home Loan
SBI's peers, which after being critical initially had launched their own teaser rate products, have since then discontinued the offering while the nation's largest lender has persisted with the product.

Use credit cards elegantly

A characteristic free credit period in India is 45-51 days. If you pay off the dues within this period, the interest is saved. If in case you are unable to pay off the entire amount within the due date, a common practice is rolling over the dues after paying the minimum amount. This could be expensive as you would have to pay an interest of about 3 % per month and the new purchases made will not get any interest-free period until the dues are completely settled. So, here’s a quick look over the other schemes offered by card companies to clear off credit card bills.
Balance transfer
If you opt for Balance Transfer, you can transfer the outstanding balance from one card to another, and thereby extend the repayment period.
Process
A balance transfer can take place between any two banks. The process takes 7-10 working days with a processing fee, and a maximum of 2 % will be levied.
Low interest rates or sometimes zero interest rates are available for balance transfers.
Points to be taken care of
Check for hidden charges or if the bank charges a transfer fee in addition to the processing fee.
The low interest rates the banks offer on balance transfers may be for an introductory period and once this period is over, it may return to the normal rates.
It is important to note that the credit limit of the card on which your new due is, will be reduced proportionately. Also remember that the balance transfer amount will be limited to a maximum 80 % of your credit limit.
EMIs on credit card loans
If you are having a problem in paying the entire credit card bill at one go, a good option is to convert it into EMIs. This facility is similar to a personal loan. But here, unlike personal loan there is no paper work and no waiting for approvals either.
Another advantage here is that you need to pay a lower interest rate of about 1.5 to 2 % whereas the normal credit card rollover interest rate is higher than 3 %. Also, while this scheme is running, one still gets the interest-free period on new purchases.

Basix gets 100 crore loan on personal guarantees of directors

In a first of its kind loan transaction in the troubled microfinance segment, public sector Central Bank of India has sanctioned a `100 crore loan to Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Ltd (BSFL), the flagship company of the Basix group, against personal guarantees of its directors, including group chairman Vijay Mahajan.
According to Basix’s website, it has nine other directors on its board. The loan is yet to be disbursed.
Mahajan, 56, who is also the president of micro-lending industry body, microfinance institutions network (Mfin), and is currently undertaking a Shodh Yatra, a nationwide tour to “extended grassroots enquiry into the lives and livelihoods of poor people”, confirmed the development but said it may not necessary for Basix to avail of the loan as a bank consortium, led by Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), is looking into a `650 crore recast of the firm’s debt.
“The bank has sanctioned the loan for Basix. We are exploring the possibility of obtaining personal guarantees from MFIs against loans,” a Central Bank of India official said. He declined to be named as he is not authorized to talk to media.
BSFL is the fifth largest MFI in India, with around two million borrowers in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Orissa. It has a total personal loan outstanding of around `1,800 crore.
This is the first such loan that an Indian bank is extending to any microfinancier in the country after the industry plunged into an operational crisis in mid-October, when Andhra Pradesh, the fifth largest state in India accounting for at least one-fourth of country’s micro-lending industry, enacted a law to put an end to alleged coercive methods resorted to by some micro-lenders to recover loan dues from poor borrowers.
Officials of micro-lending industry said if banks insist for personal guarantees or any other sort of high collateral requirements, it would be extremely difficult for small MFIs to secure adequate bank finance to run their operations.
“No bank has entertained our requests for fresh loan ever since the crisis happened. What can I do if they seek guarantees worth `10-50 crore when my net worth will be far less than that?” asked the head of a Hyderabad-based MFI, who did not want to be named.
The budget for 2012 has proposed to create a `100 crore equity fund with Sidbi to help smaller MFIs survive when banks are not forthcoming to offer them loans. Indian banks, including Sidbi, have lent around `14,000 crore to microfinance institutions as on 31 March 2010, according to data from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.
But since October, fresh lending has happened to few companies that have operations outside Andhra Pradesh.
The Andhra Pradesh law banned micro-lenders from giving a second loan to a borrower without prior government approval and made monthly collection mandatory for such firms instead of weekly or daily collections. This resulted in a sharp fall in the collection of loan instalments from borrowers, promoted banks to stay away from lending fresh loans to MFIs and forced micro-lenders not to give any new loans to their borrowers.
The Reserve Bank of India and (RBI) finance ministry stepped in to resolve the issues in the sector that is vital for financial inclusion of rural poor.
An RBI committee, chaired by Y.H. Malegam, had recently proposed a cap of 24% for MFIs and a margin cap of 10% for large ones, besides making it compulsory that not more than two MFIs can lend to the same individual.
RBI also asked banks to continue holding on operations to the sector by recycling loans to MFIs to the extent of recovery and resume lending, with a view to assist the ailing industry tide over the current crisis phase. But there are not many takers for the regulator’s call.
Perturbed by the regulatory uncertainty in the sector, some banks are now demanding higher credit enhancements in the form of cash collateral, personal guarantees and other securities such as land assets from MFIs for new loans and even to buy securitized portfolios.

How to find the Lowest Personal Loan Rates

Two people creation the same income, walk into the same bank, wanting the same amount for personal loans. While they both get the loans they were seeking, one gets a much better interest rate and thus gets a much superior deal.
Why Do Some People Get Better Rates Than Others?
First, there is no law saying how much of an interest rate a bank can charge. This means the bank can decide how much and at what interest rate they are willing to offer a personal loans. In most cases, the better rates and the better terms go to those with the better credit score.
How to Improve Your Credit Score
Since your credit score does more than determine the interest rates on personal loans, it is important to do everything you can to keep that score high. People use your credit score to determine job eligibility, insurance premiums, interest rates, availability of personal loans, and so much more. Here are some things you can do to either raise your score or keep it high.
Pay Hospital Bills – Many people are unaware that as long as you pay part of your bill you are ok. Therefore, every month pay something on all your medical bills.
Only have 1 or 2 Credit Cards – Revolving credit is a tricky thing. On the one hand, you need some revolving credit to get a credit score. However, too many credit cards or too many request for credit cards can lower your score.
Keep Balances Low - Paying off your credit cards each month is ideal. If you must roll over a balance, then pay it off as soon as possible. You need to keep a low debt to income ratio.
Pay off Bad Debt - Many people believe that once a debt goes bad, there is nothing you can do. However, paying off charge offs and slow pays will still be better than nothing.

Negotiate Large Debt – Even after a debt has gone to collections or been written off, you can call and try to negotiate a smaller fee. You may be surprised to find the creditor is willing to settle for pennies on the dollar.
The best thing you can do about your credit score is to watch it. Take advantage of the free yearly credit card report to keep the right information on and faulty credit information off.

Gold loan: A more precious debt option

If you have gold jewellery to offer as collateral for personal loan, procedural hassles are minimal and banks don't check your credit score.
The amount of documentation and the excessive verifications before your personal loan gets processed can be a nightmare.
Here is where your jewels can lend a hand, specifically gold.
With the current interest rate fluctuations, opting for a jewel loan as against a personal loan is more lucrative. Not only are your overall costs reduced, this will save a lot of your time.
The Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd  Score which reflect an individual's credit history are beginning to play an important role in acquiring personal loans. However, a jewel loan requires no such score.
While the requisite documents for a jewel loan differ across lenders, most normally require no more than a proof of income or address.
The clincher: the interest rates between a jewel loan and a personal loan can differ by as much as 5-8 per cent for the same amount loaned.
Some lenders charge a nominal fee for processing and others a small fee as closing charges. Co-operative banks require you to be a member, charges for which, again, can be as low as Rs 5.
Jewel loans can be availed of at co-operative banks, public sector banks, private sector banks and other private lenders. Some banks, however, offer it only in certain regions, the only disadvantage.
While private lenders process the loan in less than a couple of hours, some co-operative and public sector banks may take up to a day to issue the loan.
In any case, the time is much less than the minimum three days of processing time for a personal loan. Loan to value, or the maximum ratio of a loan's size to the value of the asset, for a jewel loan is on par with that of a personal loan.
The Reserve Bank of India has no strict policy on jewel loans.
In late 2007, the RBI had issued a notification which permitted bullet repayment (a lump sum payment of the principal at maturity) of gold loans.
Subject to specific guidelines from the apex bank, each bank may fix its rate for gold, reflecting the market price at that point of time.
Care should be exercised if you have defaulted on a loan earlier, be it personal or any other. Your jewels might not be returned at the end of the loan tenure if you approach the same branch.
Approaching another branch or bank in this case would be one solution, as they would not have any record of your default history.
A State Bank of India official, however, cautioned that some time in the near future, they would start looking at Cibil scores before approving a jewel loan.
The loan tenure is not uniform across banks. With private lenders like HDFC Bank and some co-operative banks, the tenure is annual.
Non-banking financial companies like Mannapuram Finance have one-month tenure. But, an advantage with monthly renewals is that the loan value also increases every month with the appreciation of gold.
At SBI, the individual must repay some amount of the principal along with the interest every month, as non-repayment for a continuous period of three months will render the loan a non-performing asset.
Considering the advantage a jewel loan offers in terms of a rent-free locker, a little bit of juggling can even help you save renting a locker for your jewels! (Obtain a fixed deposit on the loan, which should work out lesser than the rent charged on lockers.)
Of course, it makes more sense to opt for a jewel loan from a public sector bank or a co-op bank, as some private lenders have had a history of shutting down and not returning the gold.

Personal loan and loans of personal use

Personal loans are loans supposing by financial institutions without objects or security. Personal loans are unsecured loans for personal needs and can be used for any purpose. In India, personal loans are normally at the level of life are to manage, weddings, business graduation losses and investments in opposite monetary arrangements. These personal loans are really gentle and encounter all your needs. The volume of the personal loan of Rs 50 000 can Vary – R. 20 lacs and the generation of the amends of the loan varies personal 1-5 years.
In India, high-interest in isolation loans since the bank takes a incomparable series of risks, by personal loans without security. In India, personal loans from banks such as SBI, ICICI, HDFC and monetary institutions like Reliance etc. This supposing banks / monetary institutions rest on personal loans for people with seductiveness rates of in between 16-25%.
You can request for loans and might not benefit from these personal loans immediately. It is not required to the unchanging use of borrowed money divulge I. e for the role of borrowing for home loans. The banks are endangered that if the borrower does not pay off the loan with seductiveness before the due date or not, and they reliable by a review of income, practice or business and other factors of the borrower.
The support process is in the personal loan fast cumulative loans in more aged to others. Personal loan and other charges on credit by the lender, the stroke on the overall cost of personal loans and contingency as a more aged with the banks. You can additionally request online to the information accessible on personal loans. The particular websites of assorted banks and finance associated websites for other applicable information to guide the people for a personal loan.

personal loan disbursals down to 4.7%

Growth in personal loans was muted in 2009-10, data from by the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) macroeconomic report shows. However, education loan and home loans have not as fared as badly as the rest of the personal loan constituents.
Personal loans grew 4.7% annually as on February 26, 2010, as against a 6.6% growth a year ago. Loans to education sector grew by 31.2% (33.8%) annually while housing loans grew by 8.3% (6.4%).
The Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments in 2009-10 report, is a background to the annual monetary policy statement for 2010-11 that will be announced today.
“Low home loan (teaser) rates helped the growth in disbursements,” said Hatim Brochwala, banking analyst, Khandwala Securities. During the recovery from the global economic downturn, the housing loan segment witnessed a tide of teaser home loan schemes from banks which offered low fixed interest rates in the first few years and floating rates thereafter.
Most of these schemes have been discontinued but some have been revised with changes in interest rates and tenure.
“Teaser rates may not stay for more than 2-3 months as interest rates are going up. So the growth in home loans may come down slightly,” said Brochwala.
Growth in educational loans can also be attributed to higher demand. “During the downturn, many people went for further studies for which they had taken bank loans,” said M Narendra, executive director, Bank of India. “Now that the economy is recovering they can effectively use their higher qualifications pursued during the time of recession,” he said.
“The government has been emphasising on education loans, which is reflected in its guidelines stating that an educational loan can only be rejected by the highest authority. So almost all educational loans applied for are sanctioned,” said C S Jain, head (personal banking), IDBI Bank. Moreover, loans of up to Rs 4 lakh do not need a security, according to RBI guidelines.
The personal loans segment also includes advances against fixed deposits, credit cards and consumer durables.
The credit card segment took a hit due to heightened caution on the unsecured loans front by banks post recession. Issuances were restricted to individuals holding salaried accounts or having multiple relations (fixed deposits account, insurance etc.) with the bank in some cases. This segment declined by 28.3% annually.

HSBC to rebuild retail loans book

HSBC Bank Plans to focus on credit cards and home loans this year.
After booking losses on its consumer banking business for three straight years, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) looks to rebuild its retail loan book in 2010, aided by an improving credit environment.
The UK-based bank, the third-largest foreign lender in India by assets, plans to focus on credit cards and home loans, where lending was virtually at a standstill till the second half of 2009.
The bank is now disbursing home loans worth Rs 100-150 crore every month. “Our focus for 2010 is to expand our mortgages business profitably,” said Rajneesh Bahl, country head, personal financial services.
In 2009, the lender cut exposure to mortgages in India by 20 per cent to Rs 4,061 crore from Rs 5,115.2 crore at the end of 2008 to keep a lid on losses.
“There is no doubt the economy is looking up again and customer confidence is on the rise. As the market picks up, so does the demand for affordable housing; we believe the overall pie will get only bigger, which could result in an increased market share for all players,” Bahl said.
After months, the bank is expanding its credit card portfolio. And as a sign of growing confidence in the market, HSBC has started sourcing credit cards from the open market this week onwards, according to bank sources. During the consolidation phase, the bank will only service specific requests for credit cards and not solicit customers.
“We never stopped open-market sourcing. For some time now, we have opted to grow selectively. We continue to offer cards to customers with a good profile and track record,” said Bahl.
In a departure from its earlier policy, the bank introduced co-branded credit cards last year. “Earlier, our thinking was that the HSBC credit card brand is strong and we should not dilute its value by co-branding. However, seeing the success of co-branded credit cards, we decided to introduce our own cards,” said a senior executive at the bank.
Among foreign banks, HSBC was one of the hardest hit by the downturn, reporting a loss of $219 million (about Rs 1,007 crore) on its consumer banking portfolio in 2009.
Standard Chartered Bank, the second largest foreign lender in the country by assets, reported an operating profit of Rs 248.4 crore from its consumer banking division in 2009.
Citigroup’s non-banking finance company, Citi Financial, reported a loss of Rs 729 crore for the year ended March 31, 2009.
HSBC saw stress on its consumer banking book even before the onset of the economic downturn in India. It reported a retail banking loss of $70 million in 2007. The loss widened to $155 million and $219 million in 2008 and 2009, respectively.
In 2009, loan impairment charges on consumer banking at the global level rose 9 per cent to $649 million, mainly due to rising delinquencies in unsecured consumer lending businesses in India and Indonesia.
“The delinquencies in India began to moderate in the second half of 2009 as measures implemented by HSBC in the second half of 2008 to mitigate loan losses, including ceasing consumer finance loan origination and tightening lending criteria on other unsecured lending products, began to take effect,” HSBC had said in its 2009 Annual Report.