It's biz as usual for MFs despite load ban

MUMBAI: Indian fund houses, reeling under the impact of a ban on entry load or an upfront fee that they collected from investors to pay distributors, may have something to cheer about, with a majority of these intermediaries saying that they expect the ban to either have a positive or no impact on the future of the industry. A survey of 622 distributors in Mumbai and Delhi by Cafemutual, a Mumbai-based mutual fund industry tracker, shows that 57% of the participants expect the ban on entry load to have positive or no impact on the future of the mutual fund industry.

The , imposed by capital market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and that came into force in August 2009 to prevent distributors from pushing clients to switch across products in shorter durations for fees, has prompted 31% of the IFAs or distributors surveyed to ‘try charging’ fees to their clients, Cafemutual said. Significantly, 79% of those who tried were successful, the survey said.

Prior to this ban, distributors of mutual fund products got their upfront fee of 2.25% money they brought in from the AMCs, which deducted the commission from the investments.. Sebi felt the routing of commissions through AMCs resulted in distributors pitching for products that were not in the best interests of investors.

The regulator said that investors needed to pay distributors directly for selling a product rather than obtain the fee through AMCs. According to wealth managers, most investors, who put money in mutual funds, refuse to pay fees for advice, leading to many distributors shifting to selling other products, including insurance. But even distributors are getting more comfortable with the role of advisors, they said.

“There are fewer distributors and IFAs which are selling mutual funds after the ban on entry loads, but some, including us, are focusing on the advisory business. As long as the investor is ready to pay us for our advice, we will give advice and this can be a product that suits his needs...not necessarily a mutual fund or insurance product,” said Om Ahuja, head-wealth management, Emkay Global Financial Services .

The Cafemutual survey said that according to 63% of the IFAs, Ulip sales rose due to the entry load ban, while 15% said sales of structured products to the wealthy went up.

29 Sep, 2010, 03.38AM IST,ET Bureau

SBI’s FD floating rate plan may hurt elders

NEW DELHI: Senior citizens, looking for assured returns, may be left in the lurch with the country’s largest lender, the State Bank of India , announcing a new floating interest rate regime for fixed deposits.

Going by the new ‘floating’ rate regime, parking money in bank fixed deposits may not be a simple affair any more, as the return on the fixed deposits would be linked to the base rate. Going by the volatile interest rate scenario in India, the rate is expected to change quarterly or half yearly.

“Retired people do not need uncertainty but certainty. It doesn’t matter if returns are a little lesser, all they require is assured returns,” said SB Mathur, former chairman of public life insurer Life Insurance Corporation. In case of floating products, people would find it difficult to plan their future income, he added.

The attractiveness of FDs among senior citizens was risk-free assured returns and easy liquidity. The new regime would inject an element of risk as returns would become a function of the base rate, which itself would change according to RBI’s policy rates, macro-economic conditions and banks’ other statutory fund costs that could fluctuate nearly every quarter.

The base rate, introduced from July 1, serves as the minimum floor rate, below which banks cannot fix interest rates from any class of their borrowers. In order to mitigate the risk, SBI has now launched base rate fixed deposit schemes, which is expected to gather momentum in the coming days, feel bankers.

“As long as these products are optional, it’s fine. Consumers should have the maturity to choose what they want,” said Allen Pereira, CMD of Bank of Maharashtra .

“People will have to learn to live on market-driven returns unlike the current scenario of assured returns. Since the base rate is linked to inflation, it’s a double-edged sword. Income may go up if prices firm up. But there are chances that they may go down if prices start easing,” said Union Bank CMD MV Nair.

In almost all the developed markets, returns on FDs are linked to the market. In India, it is currently an optional proposition. However, if this product becomes popular, it is quite possible that plans with assured returns may be driven out, said a senior banker on condition of anonymity. “Fixed-rate returns may become history over the next few years as banks are likely to focus more on market-linked deposit rates to reduce the risk of asset-liability mismatch,” he said.

Currently, total deposit in banks in the domestic market stands at Rs 46 lakh crore, of which 65-70% comprises fixed deposits, as per industry estimates.

20 Aug, 2010, 05.10AM IST, Paramita Chatterjee,ET Bureau

How is a fixed maturity plan different from a fixed deposit?

Fixed maturity plans, or FMPs, are schemes floated by mutual funds and they work almost like a bank (FD). They come with different maturities like three months, six months, one and two years and rarely for three years.

FMPs invest in instruments of matching maturity and this gives investors a rough idea about the likely returns you can hope to pocket at the time of subscription. Since the portfolio is locked, investors are also shielded against interest-rate risks.

Also, FMPs with a maturity of over one year have a tax advantage over fixed deposits. Investors in FMPs have an option to pay tax on long-term at 10% without applying indexation or 20% after applying indexation to the cost of acquisition.

Interest from FDs is taxed according to the tax bracket applicable to the person. However, don’t go by the post-tax returns alone, as unlike bank FDs, FMPs do not offer assured return or capital protection.

If you plan to invest in FMPs, always look at the reputation of the fund house. This is very important because during the economic downturn two years ago, many fund houses got into trouble as they invested in low-rated papers from dubious companies, especially in the real estate sector. They just about managed to come out unscathed because of timely regulatory intervention and support.

However, the tricky thing about investing FMPs these days is you neither have an indicative portfolio nor return. So everything hinges on the integrity of the fund house.

Though an investor is supposed to stay invested till maturity in FMPs, fund houses also list FMP on stock exchanges so that investors can exit if they need money urgently. However, this does not guarantee enough liquidity and attractive price.

In short, consider investing in FMPs if you are comfortable with the concept and want to take a little risk to make superior tax-efficient returns.

7 Sep, 2010, 05.54AM IST,ET Bureau

Some solace: Fixed deposits to fetch more

You must have resigned to your fate by now if you have a floating interest rate loan. It is only a matter of time when the rates go up. More so, if persists with its policy tightening measures. However , the happy news is that your bank fixed deposits will give you more.

The banking regulator surprised the market with a half a percent hike in reverse repo rate, at which it absorbs excess cash, and repo rate, at which it lends to banks, by a quarter percent. Most analysts were expecting a hike of just a quarter percent. However , the small solace is that most observers believe the central bank may be nearing the end of its current monetary tightening measures.

“We are not expecting a significant increase (in interest rates) as a big chunk of it (rate hike) has already been discounted by the market,” said Lakshmi Iyer, head, fixed income and products, Kotak Mahindra MF. However, there would be pressure on banks to raise deposit rates and certificate of deposit rates would also go up, she said.

Moving on to the happier side, your fixed deposits (FDs) are likely to fetch a little better soon. What’s more? The real returns (actual returns minus inflation) are set to enter positive territory after several months. Real rates would become positive soon. The drop in inflation and the firming up of interest rates would work well (for investors), said Nilesh Shah, deputy MD, .

A rising interest rate scenario is definitely not music to the stock market. Higher interest rates can always eat into the profit margins of companies. However, most industry players are playing down the threat at the moment.

Most of them are sure the economic growth and consumer spending would continue to fill their coffers. The operating word is to be cautious while dealing with stocks. Always, place emphasis on valuation. With deposit growth lagging credit growth by as much as 6%, deposit and lending rates in the economy will go up even more, a market participant said. There would be at least 0.25% increase in rates, but this would start kicking in only gradually, he said.

17 Sep, 2010, 10.28AM IST,TNN

Tips to grow your money the safe way

Plain-vanilla fixed income assets can pump up the savings of not only the retired, but also those of young professionals.

You won’t catch them dead near the stock market. They are very happy putting away their hard-earned savings in fixed deposits, public provident funds, company deposits and so on. And not all of them are retired individuals who do not want the uncertainty of stocks ruining the fun of their sunset years.

There are many young executives, who don’t want to take the extra risk of investing in stocks. While a retired individual wants a monthly income to meet his day-to-day expenses, the working individual looks at building a fixed-income corpus to save for a rainy day or emergencies which may come his way. According to an India Wealth Report 2010 by Karvy Private Wealth, as much as 66% of Indian wealth, which is around Rs 48 lakh crore, is in fixed income assets.

Compared to this, global investors invested only 58% of their individual wealth in debt instruments during the same period.

Fixed income investors are generally risk-averse, want safety of principal and do not believe in churning their portfolios too much. They also want their investments to be as simple as possible.

There was a time when fixed-income investors earned as high as 12% by investing in bonds of reputed companies such as Tata Capital and or fixed deposits (FDs) of companies like Telco (now Tata Motors) and Mahindra Finance. However, that was during the global financial crisis in 2008-2009. With the crisis receding, earning double-digit interest on FDs is no longer possible.

No wonder, 2010 has been a tough year so far for fixed income investors. Inflation has sky-rocketed and remained in double digits for a major part of the year. The raised rates five times during the year, in a bid to rein in rising inflation. However, banks were flush with liquidity and did not raise interest rates.

So, while inflation was close to 10%, interest rates were in the range of 6-7% per annum. As a result, investors got negative real returns from their fixed income investments. Simply put, when an investor gets 7% from his FD while the inflation rate is 10%, he actually earns negative returns.

Typically, fixed income investors have choices such as FDs (bank and company FDs), debt mutual funds (liquid funds, income funds, gilt funds, fixed maturity plans) and post office investments like National Savings Certificates and 8% (GoI) bonds. Fixed deposits account for 30% of the overall individual wealth in India, while small savings constitute around 7% of the estimated wealth in India. Here, we take a look at some solutions for retired and working individuals:

Retired Individuals: Typically, an individual, who has worked during his active years, receives a lump sum on his retirement. Safety of capital is of prime importance to him. His objective is to generate a monthly income out of this corpus to sustain his lifestyle, some lump sum money for his children’s wedding or education and some surplus money to take care of medical emergencies or to go for a dream vacation as the case may be.

Safety is one of the biggest priorities for retired individuals. The Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, which gives 9% per annum payable quarterly, meets this important need. Individuals, aged 60 and above, and retiring employees, aged 55 and above, can invest in the scheme. The scheme has a five-year tenure and can be extended further for a period of three years.

“This is the highest return that a retired individual can get with the highest degree of safety from the central government,” says Uttam Agarwal, executive vice-president, , who advises retired individuals to invest in this scheme. However, one must note that premature closure is possible only after one year, with a nominal penalty.

If individuals want a monthly income, they can opt for a post office monthly income scheme (MIS), which gives a return of 8% per annum. Here, the maximum limit is Rs 4.50 lakh in a single account and Rs 9 lakh in a joint account. Here, too, premature closure after one year attracts a penalty of 2% while closure after three years attracts a penalty of 1%.

Investors can also look at company FDs, where in some cases the returns can be as high as 9.5-11%, though they do carry a higher risk compared to government schemes. “We advise senior citizens to invest in companies with AA or AAA rating and spread their investments across a number of companies,” says Anup Bhaiya, managing director, Money Honey Financial Services.

Remember, don’t go by returns alone while zeroing on company FDs, as many retired people often fall victim to bogus companies offering high interest rates. However, when it comes to getting the capital back, they realise that the company has folded up.

When it comes to mutual funds for retired investors, fixed maturity plans (FMPs) and short-term income funds are considered the best bet.

“FMPs give you the benefit of indexation and returns could be in the range of 8-8.5% for a 1-3 year tenure,” says Ramanathan K, chief investment officer, ING Mutual Fund.

Working Individuals: We are assuming that you are averse to taking risks and, hence, do not want to invest any money in equity. Also, you may have some loans, like home and car loans, to repay. So, liquidity will be of prime importance to you, as the accumulated surplus money can be used in times of emergencies or fulfil short-term goals like a vacation.

So, what kind of strategy should such young risk-averse people adopt in a rising-interest rate scenario? “He could invest some amount in a post-office MIP, and if he does not want the monthly income, he could further invest it in a post-office time deposit,” says Anup Bhaiya. In addition to this, he recommends company fixed deposits, as they give a slightly higher return than other products.

“He can invest in short-term income funds, as they offer ample liquidity, are tax-efficient and could give returns of around 7-7.5%,” adds Ramanathan K. “Such investors should invest in a combination of FMPs (fixed maturity plans) and short-term income funds. The duration risk in short-term income funds is low as they have a maturity of 1-2 years,” adds Pankaj Jain, fund manager, .

However, experts believe that younger people should invest at least a small portion of their corpus in equities, as they can add sheen to their wealth. They suggest individuals to take small exposure in equity via monthly income plans to test the market and later increase their exposure if they can stomach the risk.

Short ‘N’ Sweet

Here are some ways to grow your money without investing in equities

If you have an investment horizon of 6-12 months, then you should opt for short-term income funds that give 6-7% returns

Go for fixed maturity plans (FMPs) of 370 days and reap the benefit of indexation for up to 8%

Invest a part of your money in company deposits for three years and earn returns as high as 10%. However, don’t get swayed by the promise of returns alone. Always stick to a company with an AAA or AA rating

You can switch from short-term income funds or liquid-plus funds to income or gilt funds, depending on the prevailing interest rates

Senior citizens can invest up to Rs 15 lakh in 9% Government Savings Scheme. They can also go for post office monthly income plans that give 8% returns per annum

Do not make the mistake of keeping too much cash in your savings account as that will earn the lowest interest. For greater liquidity, you could invest in liquid funds

28 Sep, 2010, 03.34AM IST, Prashant Mahesh,ET Bureau

Car loans get costlier, hit double-digit mark

CHENNAI: have raised the interest rates in the past couple of days by anything between 50 basis points and 100 basis points (100 bps = 1%). Notably, the rates have touched the double-digit mark after a long gap.

Dealer sources said that all private lenders have effected the hike late last week. "The increase differs for every model. For instance, rack rate on loans for a B segment (compact car) will now be 12% while a C segment (sedan) would be charged 11.5% for loans ranging from three to five years. Except for PSU banks, almost all lenders, including Kotak, and HDFC Bank, have informed us about the hike," a dealer said.

"We have increased loan rates for new and used cars. Our net rate to customer would range between 10.5% and 11.25% depending on the tenor and model," said Sumit Bali, CEO of Car Insurance.

Though some dealers believe the increase in rate might dampen car sales, manufacturers maintain that the current hike would be absorbed by the market. "The growth momentum is strong and this hike may not impact sales. However, another hike might spook the sentiment and potentially dampen new car sales," P Balendran, vice president, General Motors said.

Bali of Kotak said the industry will continue to grow as the undercurrent remains bullish and strong. "With the festive season round the corner manufacturers are looking at robust sales. We hope there aren't further interest rate shocks from lenders which could affect sales. For now, we feel sales momentum would be maintained," Arvind Saxena, director, (sales and marketing), Hyundai Motor India told TOI.

The increase is also applicable to used car loans. "The new rates for used car loans, depending on the age and model of the car will now be 16% (indicative), which is a 50 basis points increase. We effected these hikes on August 23," Bali said.

HDFC Bank has raised rates for new cars to 11.25-12% from 10.5-11% effective August 20, other private lenders have followed suit. "As of now, we still lend at old rates, while there are talks of a hike anytime," a Maruti dealer in Chennai said. Passenger car sales are up. The industry witnessed 37.95% growth in July.

1 Sep, 2010, 08.50AM IST, Rajesh Chandramouli,TNN

Avoid loan defaults to save your credit record

The perception regarding taking loans has gone a sea change these days. The market has opened up significantly in the past two decades. Home loans have been around for long. It is a secure and attracts the lowest interest. Vehicle loan, too, is a secure loan and is available at comparatively low rates. Many times, car manufacturers themselves subsidise the loan to sweeten the deal. Delinquency in the home segment is lower than the vehicle segment due to the Indian consumers’ penchant for treating the home as a sacred investment.

But, personal and credit card loans are different. They are both unsecured loans. What’s more, these days personal loans are available without collateral or guarantors and require minimum documentation. With rising consumerism and aspirations, personal loans and credit card spends are increasingly the poison of choice. Add to that, cut-throat competition, which pushes the lenders to dive deep into the city’s unseen folds to source customers. The cream has long gone. Apparently, people earning as low as `3,000 per month, can now get a personal loan. By its very nature, people who have to take recourse to personal loans may not be financially very sound. Moreover, there are no guarantors

or collateral, and loans are being offered increasingly to segments even below the lower middle class. Also, recovery agents have now been restrained and banks have to go through the legal redressal mechanisms, which is notoriously slow. The upshot — rising defaults.

Credit card debt is similar. It is very easy to get carried away by the plastic sliver in one’s hands. Since, one does not count out the money and just needs to swipe, one does not realise the outgo. When it comes to payment, many times, there isn’t enough money to settle the outstanding in one shot. Hence, people go on revolving credit. That works for some time, till more goods have been bought and the revolving credit payable every month grows into a huge figure. Then defaults happen. Credit cards are also easy to come by. Customers are serenaded with offers of lifetime free credit cards and sugary sweet offers. Even here, the penetration has gone all the way down to those who may not be eligible for a credit card in the first place.

By stretching themselves and defaulting on loans, customers are doing untold damage to their credit-worthiness as everything is being captured today and is being reported in one’s credit history. Defaults damage one’s credibility, making it difficult or more expensive to get loans in future. This could bar defaulters from any access to capital, should they require it, anytime in future.

The previous generation can teach us a thing or two here. Living within one’s means is something that today’s senior citizens vouch by. No holidays on EMIs or fancy white goods on easy loans for them. While enjoying the good things in life, we all need to watch out and make sure we don’t cross the line. Once we are on the other side, we are damaged goods... forever condemned by these institutions which will not extend their line of credit. If that sounds like Armageddon, it is!

16 Sep, 2010, 02.01AM IST,ET Bureau

Query corner: Loans

VN Kulkarni, Chief counsellor, Abhay Credit Counselling Centre, Our expert guides you in matters relating to banking & finance.

It is mandatory for Banks to provide monthly account statements

NEW PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER

I have one savings bank account in Axis Bank , Sodepur, with facilities. Since I forgot the PIN when the ATM card was issued to me, I applied afresh by paying the bank a cheque of `56 for a fresh PIN. The customer service office in Bombay informed me over the phone on April 6 that a fresh PIN has been issued on March 26, 2010 and wanted confirmation of the same. Since I did not receive the same, she advised me to immediately contact the bank. I got to know that the Calcutta branch had couriered the letter to a wrong address, even though my address was correctly given in the account opening form accompanied by photocopies of Passport and PAN card which I had also given the bank when I had applied for the new PIN.

Despite repeated requests, the bank has failed to issue a new PIN and wants me to apply afresh. I have also communicated the issue to the customer service executives. Every time, they ask me about my authentication, take note of the issue, put me on hold and tell me to contact after 48 hours [three times in the past three weeks]. When I called back, they told me the issue is still in the ‘Open State’ and that it will be taken care of. You can verify with Case#10042050 & 10055048. In the meantime, my address has been corrected, but there is no remedy for my problem. Incidentally, till date I have not received any quarterly statement of accounts since the date of my opening the account on September 2009. —Jyoti Chakraborty

For not conveying the PIN of your ATM card please take up the matter with bank’s nodal officer so that matter can be resolved early. While taking up the matter please draw the attention of the nodal officer that the bank has committed to provide the statement of account every month according to the code of banks’ commitment The relevant portion reads as follows: “Para 8.1.1: To help you manage your account or check entries in it, we will provide you with a monthly statement of account unless you have opted for a passbook. We will also send you statement of account by email or through our secure internet banking service, if you so desire provided we have such a facility with us.”

The bank is supposed to send a reply within 30 days and if not it has to convey the reasons as to why it needs more time. In any case this period has already elapsed in your case . If you do not get a satisfactory reply within a reasonable period you can file a complaint with Banking Ombudsman.

HOW TO GET A 16-DIGIT BANK A/c No. FOR ECS

I am a senior citizen with a monthly income scheme account with the post office. The interest was regularly credited through the electronic clearing service (ECS). But when I opened a new account in January 2010, the post office insisted that I should have an account with a bank that has a 16-digit code as per the circular of AV Deshmukh, assistant director of postal services — Mumbai region.

This applies only to new accounts opened after January 2010. Even my State Bank of India (SBI) account has an 11-digit number. My appeals to the post office and SBI have been in vain. Further, Times of India, in its June 24 edition, carried an advertisement on page 11 from Indian Overseas Bank , stating that all their customers should have bank accounts with a 15-digit number to make or receive payments through ECS. Kindly clarify on the above. —S Krishnamurthy

In order to get your monthly interest through ECS, the post office needs certain details of your account as per the guidelines issued by the of India (RBI). The details which are required are as under:
Name of the beneficiary bank.

Name of the beneficiary
Account number of the beneficiary
The IFSC code of the beneficiary branch.

This code is available on the cheque book given by your banker. This should suffice for them to remit the money . Kindly clarify the matter with the post office once again.

BANK’s REFUSAL TO HONOUR DEMAND DRAFT

I received two demand drafts (DDs) from my stock broker by courier many years after I sold some shares. I deposited the DDs in my bank and the bank returned them with a ‘stop payment’ mark. When I asked the bank I was told that the broker had made a false complaint with the police that I had stolen those DDs. I had complained to the RBI and pointed out that the account payee was in my name.

After six months, the bank issued me a new DD. But again when I deposited it, the broker again got a stop payment from a civil court. After six months, the court ruled in my favour, but when I approached the bank for revalidation, it refused to do it. Now, the broker is again playing games and approaching the consumer court saying the bank has issued the DD in my name by mistake. How can I get back my money?
— Sudha Hasmukhray Kamdar

Ordinarily, a bank issuing a draft cannot refuse to pay the amount, unless there is some doubt about the identity of the person. Also, once the draft has been delivered to the payee or his agent, the purchaser is not entitled to ask the issuing bank to stop payment of the draft to the payee on other grounds, and the issuing bank can pay back the amount to the purchaser of the draft only with the consent of the payee. It is crystal clear that payment of a draft can be withheld only if the identity of the person presenting it is doubtful or if the title of the person presenting the draft is disputed.

There is a decided court case of Bhadoria vs. State of Indore and others (AIR 1992 MP 148) wherein neither the identity of the person presenting the draft is doubted nor the title of the person presenting the draft is disputed. The court in this case had ruled that the bank was not entitled to withhold the payment of a DD. In view of this ruling, you may take up the matter with the bank if need be with the help of your lawyer.

My friend who lives in the same society as myself has switched his home loan from the existing bank to LIC. He along with an agent approached me to be the guarantor for the loan for the period till the property documents get transferred from existing lender to LIC Housing. The agent assured me that I would get the guarantee back within a month. It's been almost seven months now and I am yet to get back the guarantee. I took up the matter with my friend and the agent, but the issue is getting delayed for one reason or the other. Is there a way to get the guarantee back? —Rajesh

Having executed the guarantee, it is now difficult for you to get it back as the papers are with LIC Housing. Neither your friend nor the agent who lured you to sign the papers can help you at this stage. Now, the only option for you is to convince your friend for a substitution of a guarantor acceptable to and getting a letter thereafter from the said institution stating that you have been discharged of your liability as a guarantor to the loan account of your friend.

16 Sep, 2010, 02.11AM IST,ET Bureau

Banks may base education loans on placement track

NEW DELHI: Your application has a better chance of getting a favourable response from if the institute you propose to study in has a good placement record. Faced with rising bad debts in their education loan portfolios that are not backed by collateral, banks are looking at the of institutes to judge the repayment capacity of seeking loans.

"The college may enjoy the government recognition, but if placement record is poor, how do you expect a student to get a job and repay?" said an official in the country’s largest lender State Bank of India . The government rules do not allow banks to demand or security for education loans up to 4 lakh, a measure to ensure funds are easily available to needy students.

This unsecured lending, according to bankers, has seen a sharp spurt in instances of non-payment . They want to now ring fence these loans through other qualitative measures . So far banks have sanctioned 34,192 crore towards education loan.

Instead of sanctioning loans merely on the basis of the student’s educational track record and whether the course and the educational institute was approved by the government, banks are also looking at the minimum and maximum package offered to the students at the institute to assess repayment capacity, though the Indian Banking Association has not yet said anything on the issue.

"It’s up to the sanctioning officer to take additional measures if he’s not convinced with the application. However, due care is taken not to unnecessary harass the student," said an Indian Bank official. One major public sector lender is asking for life insurance cover from its student applicants . "The policy is assigned in the favour of the bank and works as a double check," said a senior official with Punjab National Bank . The insurance policy helps to keep a track of the student and if there is an unfortunate event it protects the bank’s investment.

The annual premium is paid by the student himself, or by the co-applicants , but the premium is generally very low. "In case the loan turns bad, there is some limited amount which can be recovered by surrendering that policy," explained an official with Bank of Baroda .

Banks are also looking to restructure education loans that have gone sour. Indian Bank is exploring the option of giving one-year relaxation to students for repayment towards their loans. Generally banks give a payment moratorium period of six months from the time a student completes his course. Banks have found that most loans turned bad in cases where students are unable to find jobs.

6 Sep, 2010, 11.08AM IST, Dheeraj Tiwari,ET Bureau

Borrowing is not a bad idea for overseas vacation

Going on a holiday to Europe or swiping your to buying an LCD is not a bad idea, provided you have saved for it. Taking a holiday or revolving payments on your credit card is an expensive proposition, as you can end up eroding your bank balance and potential .

So is a bad idea? The answer is ‘No’. It depends on the end use of loans.

Loans can be categorised into secured and unsecured loans. Secured loans are issued by banks to borrowers against some asset such as house, car or investments. Home loans and car loans are the best examples of secured loans. If you are cash-strapped at some point of time, you can pledge your house or investments to borrow some money.

The disadvantage is that you will lose the asset if you are unable to pay back the money. But the interest rates are much lower and repayment periods are longer under secured loans.

An unsecured loan is a contractual obligation between you and a bank. The interest rates on these loans are higher (5-20%) since these loans are not backed by any assets or investment. The repayment periods are also shorter (up to three years).

Good Loans: Housing loans are good as you are paying EMIs to create an asset. Appreciation of property will earn you better returns in future.

Bad Loans: Car loans, personal loans

Car loans are bad because the value of the car depreciates faster than the principal amount.

Worst Loans: Credit cards, travel loans, loans from private money lenders. The interest rates are almost 40-45% and the end use is consumption, which can be funded with savings.

23 Sep, 2010, 11.20AM IST,ET Bureau

Query corner: Loans

Our expert guides you in matters relating to banking & finance.

Operating bank lockers of ailing parents
My parents had a locker in Bank of India for more than 30 years. We shifted to another city around 12 years ago and my parents did not access the locker during the period because of ill health. My mother passed away recently and my father has serious health problems. Since I am their only child, can you please advise me on how to get legal permission to operate the account.
S Segal

Since we do not know whether there was a nomination for the locker, you can refer to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines. RBI states that when both or all the joint locker hirer(s) die and where there is nomination, access to the locker may be given to the nominee(s). In such cases, a death certificate and identification proof of the nominee(s) are the only documents that are required. In case where there is no nominee/s, access to the locker may be given jointly to the legal heirs of all the deceased hirers (or the executor/administrator if appointed). In such cases, only a death certificate and proof of legal representation need to be submitted to the banker. You may approach your banker and he will certainly help you to resolve the issue.

No interest on closure of HUF PPF account
The State Bank of India’s (SBI) Parliament Street branch in New Delhi has refused to pay interest on a public provident fund (PPF) account opened on behalf of a Hindu undivided family (HUF) after a recent government circular quoted RBI’s directive that PPF HUF accounts cannot be further extended from May 13, 2005. I have a PPF account which was extended in 2004 up to March 31, 2009. SBI has credited interest on March 31, 2010 for the FY10. It has informed me that it will deduct the interest amount after the maturity period while making the payment on closing the account. Can SBI refuse to pay any interest after expiry of the maturity period even though a huge amount is lying in my PPF HUF account?
Harish Chander Sahni

While you are aware about the notification dated May 13, 2005, it is also necessary to know what has transpired thereafter. In terms of Notification RBI/2004-05/480Ref.No.CO.DT.15.02.001/H-9844-9866/2004-05 dated 25-05-2005, it was clarified that existing accounts opened in accordance with the rules in operation prior to the amendments dated May 13, 2005 shall continue till maturity and deposits/withdrawals in/from these accounts shall be allowed to be made in accordance with the said rules. However, any extension of existing accounts shall be subject to the amendments dated May 13, 2005. Since no further extension can be granted, it is further clarified that accounts should be closed and the deposits refunded without any interest to the depositors. In view of this, the stand taken by SBI is correct.

Credit card fraud by bank’s reresentative
I had applied for a credit card of an MNC bank at a fair organised by my company. To my shock, the bank executive, who collected the form, fabricated all the important details and used the card to spend over `5 lakh. The card is in my name, but all the details like address and cell number were fabricated. I came to know of the fraud when the bank contacted me for the payment dues. I lodged a complaint with the bank. More than 10 days have passed, but the bank has only contacted me once for casual enquiry. I’m worried. What should I do?
Michael

This is a fraud committed by the representative of the credit card issuer. You should immediately lodge an FIR, giving the details so that the investigation will throw light and find out if others have suffered in a similar fashion. Write to the bank’s nodal officer enclosing a copy of the FIR and specifically, stating that you have neither received nor acknowledged receipt of card. The credit card issuer may have indicated the utilisation of card at certain shops/cash withdrawals at ATMs etc. After checking the details, file a dispute form. Also, ask the bank to block the card/cancel it forthwith. You may have to wait for some time before the issue gets resolved. If at all it gets resolved soon, you need to check the CIBIL report to find out that your name does not appear as a defaulter. If it does, then you need to take up the matter again for a clean report.

A certain amount of money was deposited jointly for fixed deposit (FD) in UBI on May 7, 2007 with the instruction that the maturity amount will be payable on a ‘either or survivor’ basis. The FD matured on May 7, 2010 and the original fixed deposit receipt or certificate is in possession of the second depositor. On maturity, the second depositor instructed the officer-in-charge to credit the entire maturity amount to his savings account of the same branch of the bank. The officer rejected the request saying that the amount could not be credited to the second depositor’s account and that it would only go to first depositor’s savings account. Please suggest a legal or administrative remedy.
Kousik Adhikari

Unless there’s a dispute and/or there is a court order restraining the bank to pay money to the second depositor, the bank cannot withhold payment to the second depositor. A fixed deposit in the joint names of two persons is nothing but a joint account which, as the name itself suggests, is repayable on the expiration of the agreed period. An ‘either or survivor’ clause in such an account means that the amount payable by the bank on maturity of the fixed deposit may be paid to either of the account holders by the bank. Kindly bring this aspect to the notice of the bank. If the branch authorities are not acting upon the instructions of the second depositor, take up the matter with bank’s nodal officer.

30 Sep, 2010, 05.26AM IST, VN Kulkarni

Rent & invest your way to a new house

Now is the time to buy the house. This ancient pearl of wisdom, it seems, is fast losing currency these days among home buyers in big cities. With property prices almost hitting stratospheric levels and interest rate showing signs of inching upwards, manqy potential buyers have given up plans to buy a home immediately. Most of them are also a bit wary of huge EMIs that could consume more than half of their income. And, it’s not because they don’t want to compromise on their lifestyle. The scary spectacle of job losses during the economic downturn has made many people look at their monthly outgo towards repaying various debts they have accumulated over the years.

Ramesh Iyer, a marketing executive, was all set to buy a house a year ago, just before his marriage. His idea was to buy a flat close to his parents and brother in Andheri, a western suburb in Mumbai. However, when he started looking for a flat, he found that the prices were much higher than he had imagined. His brother bought a flat in the same vicinity five years ago for `30 lakh, but now the price for a similar house was more than twice the amount. That is when he decided to abandon the idea of buying a flat. “I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of a huge EMI.

Even after including my wife’s income, we would be just scraping through our monthly budget. I wasn’t prepared to live like that in the first few years of my marriage,” he says. He rented a house in the same locality for `15,000. He plans to invest as much as he can for the next five years and build a large corpus for the down payment which, he believes, will bring down the to a comfortable level.

Rajesh Sharma, an HRD professional, prefers to stay on rent for a totally different reason. He has been staying in and around the city centre in Mumbai for the past seven years. He says he just can’t think of moving to any suburb. “I always get this free gyan that I should move to the suburbs and start saving money for a house. Everyone points out the futility of paying around `30,000 per month, but I tell them I don’t mind it,” he says. He says he knows he can’t afford to buy a place in South Mumbai. “It would cost at least a crore. I can’t imagine ever having that kind of money, but I can afford to pay the rent. As long as I can do that, I will stay here.”

In fact, many people are quietly abandoning their plans to buy a place of their liking because of similar reasons. Even financial advisors are advising people not to rush with their house-buying plan if it stretches their finances beyond a point. Especially after the economic downturn and job losses, advisors are asking their clients to be mindful about the liabilities they want to take. “It is true that people are not ready to buy houses at the current prices.

If you look at the sales figures in large cities, you will realise that there is very little buying happening,” says D Sundararajan, investment consultant, Trendy Investments, a private wealth management firm in Mumbai. “It is true that earlier everyone was encouraged to buy a house immediately because of sentimental reasons and the tax advantage. But these days the idea does not work because of very high property prices,” he adds.

Financial experts also say that most individuals find it difficult to take care of huge EMIs because they already have several other EMIs — car, LCD, home theatre and so on — to service every month. “Earlier, most people would have a maximum of two EMIs for a house and car. These days it is not the case. Some of my clients have many EMIs for various tenures. They also run up huge credit card bills every month... mostly, our first effort is to clean up the debt before getting into savings and investment advice,” says a wealth manager, who declined to be named.

Sundararajan also says that people are happy enjoying the tax breaks on rent. “If your house rent allowance is 50% of your basic salary, with some planning you can get tax benefit on your entire HRA amount,” he says. Then there is also the concept of ‘cheaper rent.’ Sure, rentals have gone up lately, but if you look at the figure in relation with the capital value of the property, it is still very negligible. “It’s hardly 4-5% of the capital value,” says Sundararajan.

That brings us to most people’s idea about “aggressively” investing the difference between the possible EMIs minus the rent and build a huge corpus to make a big enough down payment to bring down the EMIs to a reasonable level. (Some experts believe your EMI should never be more than 30% of the income, but these days people seem to be comfortable with even 50% and above) For example, Ramesh Iyer is planning to invest the difference between his EMI (had he bought a house) and the rent in a mutual fund scheme through a systematic investment plan. (see table) The exercise, he believes, will help him create a corpus in a few years, which he can use to make a down payment to bring down his EMI eventually. He is also hopeful that he can take advantage of a price correction sometime in future.

However, stock market pundits want investors to have realistic expectations from the stock market. “When we are speaking about higher returns, the choice is always the stock market. But the market is at a very high level. The upside from here can’t be very quick,” says a wealth manager with a bank. “Sure, the market can still touch a historical high, but one should proceed with caution.” Sundararajan says investors should aggressively save and then invest a part of it regularly in the stock market.

“One should not invest money in a large chunk at the current level. It should be systematic investment plans (SIP) in three or four different mutual fund schemes. You should also have different dates for the SIPs,” he says.

However, if you are postponing your plan to buy a house, you should be prepared for a few possible scenarios. The real estate market always defies logic — you can almost never predict the correction in prices, especially in Mumbai and Delhi. Also, there are chances that prices would have moved up when you are ready with your corpus for the down payment. “The idea of building a corpus and buying the property when there is a correction of 20-25%, which I think is highly possible, is sound. But the only problem is that nobody can predict the property market,” says Sundararajan.

17 Sep, 2010, 04.03AM IST,ET Bureau

Taking a home loan insurance can save dependents from the burden of debt

Buying a house is the high point in the life of an average Indian. However, seldom he or she realises that the most-coveted asset comes at a huge price and is a very large long-term liability in the account book.

If something happens to the borrower, especially if on the death of the breadwinner of the family, the dependents are left shouldering the burden of debt, in addition to grappling with the loss of the breadwinner’s income. A failure to repay the loan could mean having to deal with the threat of the bank repossessing the property, resulting in possible eviction — an eventuality one certainly wants to avoid.

Enter loan insurance covers, which are specifically designed to cover such risks. Home loan insurance, or mortgage covers, are similar to simple term plans, but unlike the latter, these policies offer a reducing sum assured; that is, the cover diminishes in congruence with the amount owed to the lending institution.

Generally, these are single premium policies with the lender funding the amount, which is to be repaid by the borrower as part of the equated monthly installments (EMI).

However, you need to bear in mind that while covering your liabilities is extremely critical, mortgage cover is by no means the only way of achieving this end. You can always look at a simple term plan with sum assured large enough to cover your liabilities and replace your income. Term insurance rates have been falling; also, the cover remains constant, unlike where the sum assured goes down along with the amount repayable. But in absolute terms, a home loan cover will be cheaper than term insurance.

Therefore, you need to take a call on the basis of your needs – if you already have say a Ulip or an endowment plan in place before taking the loan, you can choose to go with a mortgage cover; else, a term cover should do the job.

21 Sep, 2010, 04.12AM IST,ET Bureau

Stay alert on your home-loan hunt

The window-dressing is perfect. Over-zealous executives of property developers, as well as banks and housing finance companies (HFCs), are falling all over one another to vie for your attention in the biggest festive season of the year. Several banks have already decided to put off raising their base rates to avoid losing prospective buyers. However, shut out the cheerful chatter and make sure that you don’t get carried away by the promotional offers of getting the moon to your balcony. Take some time off and talk to your friends and gym buddies and you will soon get to know that many people fall prey to such promotional offers every year in search of an auspicious date. Here’s how you can avoid such misadventures.

Avoid Teasers: After floating, teaser is the new term that has entered the lexicon of home hunters. Banks hate to use the term ‘teaser rate’ and prefer to call such loans special schemes, but you have to be careful about these special offerings. These schemes, typically offer the fixed interest rate (slightly lower than the prevailing market rate) during the initial years, say, two or three years. The rate may get linked to market rates once the initial honeymoon period is over.

While the ‘special’ rates could indeed ensure huge savings on your equated monthly instalment (EMI) outgo in the first few years, be prepared to shell out more once the market-linked rates kick in later. Remember, a housing loan has a lengthy repayment period and if an increase in rates pushes up your to unmanageable levels, you could land yourself in a debt trap. The scoop: Don’t take long-term decisions merely on the basis of prevailing attractive interest rates.

Switch To The Base Rate: This one’s applicable to old, or existing, borrowers with floating rate loans who, for years, have been crying themselves hoarse about the step-motherly treatment meted out to them. In the past, there have been complaints that banks resist passing on the benefits of a benign interest rate regime to existing borrowers, but they don’t hesitate to lure new borrowers with lower rates. The banks, however, never hesitate from raising rates for the old borrowers when the interest rates in the system inch upwards.

As an antidote for these problems, the (RBI) came up with the mechanism aimed at bringing in more transparent loan pricing and consequently, a fair treatment to existing borrowers. Under the new regime, which replaced the benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) system from July 1, banks are required to review their base rates at least once every quarter and ensure that any changes made are passed on to all classes of borrowers. Existing borrowers can choose to switch over to the base rate and the bank cannot levy any charges for facilitating the transfer.

While it remains to be seen if the new mechanism yields the desired results, many feel it is likely to fare better than the present system. “Some banks are yet to arrive at the rate linked to the base rate for existing borrowers or have not communicated with the branches in that regard. However, those borrowers who have a choice should certainly look at switching over to the base rate,” says VN Kulkarni, chief counsellor with the Bank of India-supported Abhay Credit Counselling Centre.

Don’t Borrow Beyond Means: This will perhaps rank as the most common mistake made by over-enthusiastic home seekers. Since a house is considered a prized asset, which is likely to be a once-in-a-lifetime purchase, many feel that overshooting the budget is justified. As a result, they tend to go for a three-BHK when their pocket permits only a two-BHK. Similarly, those constructing their house often stretch their budget to include luxury bathroom fittings, flooring or attractive false ceilings, which inflate the required loan amount. They often forget that once the EMI payments commence, the additional room or the plethora of amenities will turn out to be sources of uneasiness rather than providing any comfort to the home-owners.

Don’t Be Over-Optimistic: For a long time till disaster struck in 2008-09 in the form of global slowdown, employees in India had become accustomed to lucrative raises and bonuses every year. On the back of such hikes, many had signed up for housing loans, car loans and even personal loans; not to mention running huge credit card bills. Their optimism boomeranged when the job market tanked, leaving them with huge loans and little income to service them.

Rakesh Kataria (name changed) found himself caught in a similar situation last year. He was employed in the IT sector and had taken on a large home loan when the interest rates were low, assuming that his future increments would be capable of funding any increase in EMIs later. When the tide turned, the expected pay hike did not materialise, leaving him saddled with a huge debt. “Now, he has put in a request with his bank for extending the tenure, which is yet to be granted. The case demonstrates that it is always advisable to carefully assess your repayment capacity while applying for a loan. You should not make any assumptions, and determine your affordability on the basis of your current salary,” advises Kulkarni.

“This apart, those who buy a second home assume that the EMI payment will be funded by the rent it is expected to earn. If the house is an under-construction property and the work is not completed as per schedule, you could be in for serious trouble. If your house is not ready by the end of the moratorium period, you will have to start repaying the loan without the comfort of the rental income,” points out a senior official with an asset reconstruction company.

Stay Away From Additional Loans: No one’s ever satisfied with a house boasting of basic amenities or lacklustre painting carried out by the builder. Once the home buying part is done, borrowers happily lap up top-up loans offered by several banks for the purpose. While they are cheaper than personal loans, you should opt for them only if you are capable of repaying it. Funding high-cost debt like personal loans and credit cards along with your home loan will prove to be an uphill task once the repayment begins.

The right time to buy a house, it is often said, is when you can afford it. You will do well to hold on to this view as a guiding principle while embarking on a house-hunting drive to ensure that one of the most cherished dreams of an average Indian – owning a house – remains a positive experience.

1 Oct, 2010, 01.54AM IST, Preeti Kulkarni,ET Bureau

Home, Auto, Corporate loans likely to be dearer from January

AHMEDABAD: Banks are likely to raise the interest rates for home, auto and corporate loans in first quarter next year, owing to possible high cost of deposits, a top banker said here today.

"The way system is moving the banks are expected to raise their Benchmark Prime Lending Rates (BPLR) in January or first quarter of next year," CMD Dena Bank D L Rawal told reporters.

As per the new lending system, the banks do not lend below the minimum or base as directed by the RBI.

"Any hike in BPLR will thereby get refracted in lending rates," Rawal said adding so the interest rates for home, auto and corporate loans in first quarter are expected to go up.

"Bulk deposits which were available at 6 per cent when there was excess liquidity in system, are now available at 8.20 or 8.25 per cent for one year period, they are expected to reach nine per cent mark by March next year," he said.

In the case of retail deposits rates the cost has gone up by 25 to 75 basis points depending on the tenure of deposits, he said.

in mid-September had raised short term lending (Repo) rate by 0.25 percentage points to 6 per cent and borrowing (Reverse Repo) rate by 0.50 percentage points to five per cent to tame inflation.

"Any decision taken by the RBI takes 2-3 months time for transmission," Rawal said.

"Bankers are expecting a good credit off take from October onwards, so there could be some liquidity concerns thereafter and they are expected to go in for mobilisation of deposits in subsequent months," Rawal said.

"So when banks go in for mobilisation of deposit in November and December deposit rates are expected to go up by another 25 to 50 basis points, thereby making cost of deposits still higher for the banks," he said.

The banks had hiked the deposit interest rates in August and September, and another round of hike in these rates is now eminent in November and December as bankers will try and attract more deposits.

In December the bankers as a routine exercise calculate the cost of deposits and there upon decide the future operational strategy.

As of now there are no liquidity problems in system, but as the credit off take increases in October, there could be some pressure in the months of November and December on this front, he said.

28 Sep, 2010, 10.47PM IST,PTI  ET

Double check before sharing a home loan

Call it the heady feeling of togetherness or the impact of real estate prices that can make you giddy. Either way, most young couples are increasingly opting for joint housing loans. “Real estate prices, especially in the metros, have gone through the roof. You cannot think of owning a house unless you dip into both the incomes,” says Suresh Sadagopan, principal financial planner, Ladder 7 Financial Advisories. Sure, a joint housing loan offers a number of advantages such as a bigger loan amount, higher and so on. However, a joint loan also comes with its own complications.

Spouses Should Be Co-Owners

Just taking a joint loan (co-borrower in banker’s parlance) won’t make you eligible for tax breaks. Both of you can avail tax benefits on the home loan only if you are the co-owners of the property. Housing finance companies (HFCs) insist that the co-owners of the house must be co-borrowers, but they do not insist on the opposite. Co-borrowers, who are also co-owners, are eligible for tax rebates in the proportion of their share in the loan. It means a couple has to consider their individual repayment capacity while deciding the share of the loan. So, a husband and wife can have equal ownership but if their share of the loan is in the ratio of 60:40, the tax benefits would be shared in that proportion.

“You have to get a break up of the share of the loan on a stamp paper at the beginning itself to avoid tax complications,” says Vaibhav Sankla, executive director, Adroit. The maximum tax deduction available for a single borrower is `1.5 lakh. This deduction will apply to each borrower, taking the total possible deduction to `3 lakh. (please see table). Each borrower has to provide a copy of the borrower certificate to claim tax relief. The co-borrowers should enter a simple agreement on a `100-stamp paper. This agreement should contain the details of the ownership along with that of the home loan availed by the borrowing couple. A couple will need two copies of the certificate from the HFC and each spouse can submit copies of the certificates along with a copy of the agreement signed between the two, say our tax experts. However, experts point out that there are no clear guidelines on this matter. So, it is possible for either of the borrower to miss out on the tax rebate. In such cases, they can claim it as a refund while filing tax returns.

Managing The EMI

A couple cannot issue two cheques for servicing the same EMI due in a month as the internal systems of an HFC do not accept two cheques. One option is to service the EMI from a joint account. The second option is to share the number of instalments. For example, eight cheques in a year could be issued from the husband’s account, while the wife could issue for the rest of the period. Another option is that one spouse pays off the instalments and seeks reimbursement from the partner. However, tax experts say that this process could get highly cumbersome — both for the borrowers and the HFC.

What If The Spouse Does Not Earn?

The question arises especially when one of the co-owners does not have any income. In such instances, the other co-owner should enter into an agreement with the spouse, stating that the entire repayment is met only by one borrower’s income. This will ensure that you have 100% beneficial home ownership and consequently you can enjoy all tax benefits applicable to a single borrower.

Be Ready For Setbacks

As you have seen the advantages of a joint loan, it is time to be prepared for the setbacks as well. Couples could actually land into a financial mess if there is a job loss, forced sabbatical or even a divorce. For example, job losses and pay cuts were common in 2009. So if you had taken a loan prior to 2009, and found yourself a similar situation, you would have been helpless. Such episodes have made people ponder over such extreme scenarios before shouldering the responsibility of huge housing loans. “Whenever a borrower takes a housing loan, the house is mortgaged with the bank/housing finance company (HFC). If the borrower is unable to foot the EMIs, the bank will take the possession of the house. This not only leads to financial loss but also has an emotional impact on the borrower. Hence, single borrowers should not stretch their housing loan EMIs beyond 40% and double borrowers beyond 50% of their take home salary, adds Mr Sadagopan. Secondly, if you are planning for a child you may want to factor in a possibility that your spouse may be unable to resume work due to health reasons. Such couples should not take a housing loan, where it’s imperative for the wife to contribute towards repayment. Either make a conscious call of delaying the purchase or just borrow on a single income.

Also, it’s very important to strike a personal and financial compatibility before a joint investment. If for some unforeseen reason, the couple decides to part ways, then the house and the joint loan could be a tricky situation. Many couples have settled disputes amicably and either of them have paid off the other one’s share and taken possession of the house. But if both of them want to own the house and are unable to resolve amicably, things could take a legal twist.

Finally, before deciding on the big purchase you also have to decide if this town is where you want to settle. For example, if you and your spouse put all you hard-worked earnings into a house in Mumbai and either of you have to relocate to Bangalore, it will just add to your expenses. “Both of them have to foot the EMIs as well as pay a rent in the new city. And if the transition is from a cheaper town to an expensive city, it leads to a tight cash flow situation,” Mr Sadagopan adds.

Does that mean you shouldn’t buy a house because of a possible transfer or relocation in future? You can always buy a house but as permitted by a single income. Secondly, if you are always on the move and uncertain on where you want to drop the anchor, invest in a house closer to either of your parents. They will be able to maintain the house or even take possession, if required. You can give the power of attorney to them which will enable them to carry out the required procedures in your absence.

(Article Published 30 Sep, 2010, 06.01AM IST, Vidyalaxmi,ET Bureau)