Personal Loans India

How are Home Loan Interest Rates Determined

2022-12-16T02:11:00.003-08:00

Borrowers should possess a thorough knowledge of the key factors influencing home loan interest rates in India before applying for this credit option.

Thanks to the easy availability of home loans, people can now fulfil their dreams of owning a home. Furthermore, the high-value loan amount and the competitive home loan interest rates have made this credit facility popular among homebuyers in India.

The monthly instalments and borrowing costs are significantly impacted by interest rates. Therefore, borrowers should possess a thorough knowledge of the key factors influencing home loan interest rates in India before applying for this credit option.

How Do Financial Institutions Determine the Home Loan Interest Rates

Lending institutions consider the following factors while determining the home loan interest rates for a particular borrower:

Location of the property

The property’s location also impacts the interest rates on a home loan. If a property is located in a posh location with amenities, such as railway stations, grocery shops, hospitals, schools, etc., in proximity, it will have a high resale value.

Consequently, financial institutions will charge a lower interest rate for such properties. On the other hand, choosing a property in an area with poor facilities will result in a higher interest rate.

Income stability of a borrower

The interest rates charged by any financial institution depend heavily on a borrower’s income status. Lenders favour borrowers with a stable source of income. Therefore, salaried people are given lower interest rates because their steady income indicates the ability to pay back loans on time.

Loan quantum

Borrowers should give equal weightage to loan principal. High loan amount will increase home loan EMI burden for a borrower, thus increasing the risks of credit defaults. Hence, financial institution charges a higher interest rate for a greater loan amount.

Borrowers must make sure to pay a sizable down payment if they require a sizable loan principal. A sizable down payment will lower the loan balance, resulting in a lower home loan interest rate.

RBI hikes key interest rate by 35 bps on 07 Dec 2022

2022-12-07T01:01:00.003-08:00

Fight against inflation remains major concern, growth forecast is lowered to 6.8 pc from 7 pc this fiscal says RBI. Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das announces the bi-monthly monetary policy, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022 hiked the key policy rate, the repo rate or the rate at which the RBI lends funds to banks, by 35 basis points to 6.25 per cent in a bid to rein in retail inflation.

What impact will the RBI’s decision have?

Lending rates of banks are expected to go up as the cost of funds is expected to rise further. EMIs on vehicle, home and personal loans will also rise. The external benchmark linked lending rate (EBLR) of banks will rise by 35 bps — one basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point— as such loans are linked to the Repo rate. As much as 43.6 per cent of the total loans are now linked to the Repo rate.

Marginal cost of funds-based lending rates (MCLR), which accounts for 49.2 per cent of the loans portfolio of banks, are also expected to move up. The hike will help in moderating inflation in the country.

Deposit rates are also expected to rise in the near future. SBI, India’s largest bank, now offers a 6.10 per cent rate on one-year term deposits.

If the retail inflation cools down, the RBI is likely to pause the rate increases in 2023.

Month	Hike (BPS)	Repo Rate %
May-04	40	4.4
Jun-08	50	4.9
Aug-05	50	5.4
Sep-30	50	5.9
Dec-07	35	6.25

SBI Cards shares up 0.78% as Nifty gains

2022-11-28T23:06:00.001-08:00

SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd. traded 0.78 per cent up in Monday's trade at 12:28PM (IST). Around 123,822 shares changed hands on the counter.

Shareholding pattern
As of 30-Jun-2022, domestic institutional investors held 11.34 per cent stake in the firm, while foreign institutional investors held 8.29 per cent and the promoters 69.64 per cent.

Valuation ratio
According to BSE data, the stock traded at a price-to-earnings multiple of 36.17 and a price-to-book ratio of 10.36. A higher P/E ratio shows investors are willing to pay a higher price because of better future growth expectations. Price-to-book value indicates the inherent value of a company and is the measure of the price that investors are ready to pay even for no growth in the business.

SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd. belongs to the Credit Card & Allied Services industry.

TSSC partners with SBI Card for placement-linked skill development courses for women

2022-11-28T23:03:00.003-08:00

The centre is set to provide National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) and National Curriculum Framework (NCF) aligned short-term courses in telecom service job roles.

Telecom sector skill training provider TSSC on Monday said it has partnered with SBI Cards and Payment Services for placement-linked skill development courses to train 763 women over the next two years.

Under this partnership, Telecom Sector Skill Council (TSSC) has launched a telecom centre of excellence (CoE) at the Government College for Girls Gurugram under a CSR initiative for women empowerment.

The project will cater to 763 candidates over the span of two years beginning from September this year, the statement said.

“The CSR project under this collaboration will be a pertinent boost in skilling the female youth and help them inculcate the spirit of self-reliance to explore new job roles. This crucial partnership with SBI credit Cards for CSR is yet another step forward to drive equality of opportunity for women and empower them,” TSSC CEO Arvind Bali said.

The CSR project was envisioned under TSSC’s Livelihood Enhancement and Promotion (LEAP) Programme which caters to basic and intermediate skill building for upcoming and legacy telecom courses.

The main objective of the programme is to impart the confidence and competence to candidates in telecom trades to help support the rising demand for service, manufacturing, and retail job roles.

“We are doing our share to improve the status of women in the workforce. We are confident that this collaboration with TSSC will benefit women candidates in Haryana and assist them in moving beyond theoretical courses to become job ready. This is a one-year partnership, and we believe it will add to the momentum of initiatives already underway by the government and various companies to attract more female talent to the industry,” SBI Card Managing Director and CEO Rama Mohan Rao Amara said.

source: Financial Express

SBI all loan's EMI set to rise as lender hikes interest rates

2022-11-16T23:50:00.002-08:00

State Bank of India (SBI) has raised the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) by 15 basis points across tenors, making most consumer loans costlier for borrowers. The benchmark one-year MCLR, which is used as base for fixing most of home loans, auto and personal loans, has been raised by 10 basis points (bps) to 8.05 percent, as against 7.95 percent earlier. Why are loans impacted by RBI's decision? Generally, when RBI hikes the repo rate, it increases the cost of funds for banks. This means that banks will have to pay more for the money they borrow from RBI. Consequently, banks pass on the cost to borrowers by increasing their loan interest rates, making EMIs costlier. As a result, both new and existing borrowers witness an increase in their loan interest rates.

Top Mortgage Lender, HDFC, Sees Home Loan Demand Despite Rate Hikes

2022-09-13T00:34:00.003-07:00

Demand for home loans is strong in India and is expected to pick up further over the next few months, the head of major housing finance firm Housing.

Home loans have grown by 16% as of end July compared to same period last year.

"The economy is buoyant, the feel good factor is high, affordability is better so people are comfortable buying houses even if rates are slightly higher," Keki Mistry, chief executive of HDFC, told Reuters.

The central bank has already raised rates three times by a total of 140 basis points in this financial year to tame stubbornly high inflation, which has remained above the central bank's tolerance band for several months.

Lenders have passed on the interest rate rises but Mistry said that there are no signs of stress among home buyers and collections on loan dues remain robust.

Interest rates are expected to rise further with economists expecting at least another 60 basis points by March 2023, according to a Reuters poll.

"The economy feel good factor is so strong that (we) expect that festival season will be very strong," Mistry said, referring to the September to December period.

"I don't think we will see too much of a rise in interest rate going ahead, some increase will be there but don't think that will deter the buyers," he said.

Economists concur, with Madan Sabnavis, chief economist of Bank of Baroda saying in a report late last month that home buyers would be prepared for fluctuating home loan rates.

Housing loans have grown by 16% as of end July compared to same period last year, according to the latest central bank data.

Demand is likely to be particularly strong from India's larger cities, where sales had slowed between 2016-2020 but where a revival is now visible, said Mistry.

HDFC Bank will offer a 10 Second Personal Loan Service at the end of this year

2022-09-09T23:04:00.003-07:00

The private lender HDFC Bank is expanding its offers to self-employed people who were previously not considered creditworthy in addition to providing loans to everyone in just 10 seconds. Now, the private lender wants to raise credit exposure to customers who are self-employed, who make up barely 5% of the market.

The 10-second loan service is something that HDFC Bank, the largest private lender in India, wants to make available to everyone, even people who don’t have bank accounts. The bank has been able to provide 10-second loans for existing customers over the previous six years and has been a paradigm pioneer in this area.

By year’s end, we intend to release the product to the larger open market for personal loans after providing service delight to our current clients.

The HDFC Bank is increasing its offers to self-employed people who were previously not considered creditworthy in addition to providing loans to everyone in just 10 seconds. Now, the private lender wants to raise credit exposure to customers who are self-employed, who make up barely 5% of the market.

The private lender has 12 million pre-approved loan customers across all of its products and has established an infrastructure basis throughout 650 districts in India to disburse unsecured loans.

At Rs 1.48 lakh crore, personal loans made up the greatest portion of retail loans, while 10-second loans made up the highest portion as of the end of June 2022.

SBI offers personal loans to existing borrowers at housing loan rates

2015-03-11T22:45:00.005-07:00

State Bank of India is offering a bonanza to its existing home-loan customers. They can take personal, or top-up, loans at the same rate that they are paying on home loans under a limited-period offer from the nation's top lender.

In effect, an existing borrower can take a personal loan at 10.15%, provided he had been paying his home loan EMIs on time. For women, this will be even cheaper at 10.10%. The rates imply a 0.35-0.40 percentage point cut in the top-up loan rates that SBI has been charging.

It charges 13.50-18.50% on personal loans to other customers. A senior SBI official, who did not want to be named, said the rate on top-up loans was lowered to boost the bank's loan book. "Also it is a safe bet for the bank to attract their existing customers with good track record to borrow from them rather than approaching its rival banks."

The rate reduction comes at a time when RBI has signalled a softer interest rate regime by cutting policy rates twice - both by a quarter percenta

Festive Season Starts,Banks woos Customers with lucrative offers

2014-10-07T03:11:00.004-07:00

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

2012-02-13T02:22:00.001-08:00

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

2012-02-10T01:14:00.001-08:00

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.

Banks ask borrowers to wrap their personal loans, overdraft services

2012-02-08T23:32:00.001-08:00

The banking sector, reeling under a rise in non-performing assets (NPAs) from the corporate sector, is seeking to hedge loans to individual borrowers. Increasingly, borrowers are being asked to buy insurance policies to cover their loans. “Covers with personal loans and overdraft facilities have gained traction in recent times. Both public and private sector banks are aggressively pushing these products to retail customers,” said a senior State Bank of India (SBI) official. According to Reserve Bank of India data, outstanding personal loan, without housing, consumer durables, credit cards, etc, stood at Rs 12,817 crore at the end of December.
Insurance industry players say at present, almost 30 % of personal loan borrowers are buying insurance covers. And, that is increasing at a fast clip. In comparison, the penetration in case of home loans is up to 90 %, mostly for loans between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore and around 75-80 % for an average education loan of Rs 4 lakh and above.
Since personal loans are for a period of three-five years, the premium is not very high. Also, if the borrower purchases a group insurance policy, the premium is even cheaper.
“At a small cost, both banks and borrowers are assured of peace of mind,” said a public sector bank head.
The premium for a 35-38-year old is Rs 350-400 per lakh annually, if one takes the group insurance route. A single-premium policy for five years will cost Rs 1,500-2,000.
Says A S Narayanan, chief distribution officer at Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, “Group mortgage covers are fast gaining ground. A lot of people are buying covers for personal and overdraft to avoid burdening their families in the event of their death.”
Group mortgage covers are mostly single-premium covers, especially for personal loans, as these are short-duration loans as opposed to housing loans. There are various options, such as a single-premium reducing cover, a single-premium level cover, and regular-premium reducing and level covers.
Reducing covers, as the name implies, decrease as the outstanding loan amount (principal borrowed) decreases over the loan tenure.
This results in a lower premium as the loan amount decreases. On the other hand, a level cover stays stagnant even if the loan amount decreases. “Some of these policies also have a money-back proposition where the buyer gets back a certain sum at the end of five years,” said a senior SBI official.
According to bankers, borrowers are being sold the covers under the proposition of ‘no headache to families, in case of an untimely death or even unemployment’.
“Borrowers are showing interest because if there is a default due to death, the family will not be pestered or will not be burdened with a loan,” said the retail head of a private sector bank.
Some banks have even made it mandatory to purchase a cover with a personal loan. In the case of some, the premium is included as part of the loan fee. However, a senior SBI official says since the central bank does not allow linking an insurance product with any loan, banks have to take a consent order from the customer before selling such bundled products.

Trends of loans in January 2012

2012-01-02T04:08:00.001-08:00

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

2011-12-28T22:40:00.001-08:00

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

2011-11-15T04:14:00.001-08:00

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

2011-10-17T02:45:00.001-07:00

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

2011-10-17T02:32:00.001-07:00

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

2011-10-15T02:18:00.001-07:00

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

2011-10-15T00:12:00.001-07:00

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

2011-10-14T23:06:00.001-07:00

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

2011-10-14T22:09:00.001-07:00

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

2011-04-09T02:32:00.001-07:00

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

2011-03-27T22:22:00.001-07:00

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

2011-03-07T03:04:00.001-08:00

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.

Tips for get a low rate personal loans

2010-11-16T23:22:00.001-08:00

Personal loans are handy when you are in a spot and need some urgent cash. However, personal loan are tricky and you need to know as much as possible about their basics before applying for one.
Before you choose your personal loan:
Calculate the inexpensive loan offer: Personal loans come with very high interest rates ranging from 14% to 24%. Compare personal loan interest rates and get the complete picture by understanding the annualized interest rates for each offer.
Then figure out the total amount of repayment you need to shell out with all the offers before opting for the loan of your choice.
Processing fee et al: You need to keep in mind the processing fee and other fees that will be levied when you apply for your personal loan.
Prepayment penalty check: Ask upfront if there would be any penalty payments for prepayment of the loan at any point in time. More often than not loan consumers tend to pay up their loans earlier than planned to be rid of debt. Hence, its important to know if your personal loan offer allows part prepayments.
If that is the case, then you should be aware from what time frame in the loan period you can start prepaying and understand the cost you incur due to such prepayments in part or full.
EMI and tenure: Evaluate all loan offers. The first condition for loan offer selection is the total money outflow that the loan will cost. The second factor is the EMI. A loan offer with a lower EMI and a longer tenure may seem attractive, as it could be easy on your purse strings, however not all such loans prove to be cost effective in the long run.
Hence, first calculate the total loan cost and then try to opt for a higher EMI, which you can comfortably manage to enable shorter loan tenure.