Thursday, March 12, 2009

Are the banks in India in serious trouble?

I asked my self the question "Are the banks in India in trouble?" Why did I ask myself the question? Well I like talking to myself when no one usually likes the subject...like finance. :) The answer to that question is interesting.  Since coming back to India again and before I head back to California again, i thought i would do a little research.  A particular bank called ICICI has been bugging a company I know to keep all their deposits in their bank and not in the other International bank that said company uses.  As I was discussing some things I discovered that someone from that company had applied for a loan and it was rejected.  Obviously ICICI has seen the payroll running since 2004 and must have thought why couldn't all that money sit here instead of just going to the said companies employees? Valid question.  Anyway I snaked a copy of the rejection letter of said employee ( I have left out the customized stuff to the standard rejection email, like name etc):

"We considered your application for personal loan, but regret to inform you that at present we would not be able to sanction a personal loan to you.   While we regret your disappointment, we assert that our credit policy is not discriminatory towards any section or individual. We are in the service industry with a clear retail perspective, and all our customers are equally important.  The pre approved loan was offered to you subject to the fulfillment of eligibility criteria of ICICI Bank, on the basis of the information provided by you in your application and our consideration of the criteria. Our Credit Department compares the data with our credit policy and arrives at a decision.  We regret the inconvenience caused to you. However, we affirm that our inability to approve your application for the personal loan is in no way a reflection of your credit-worthiness.  Thank you again for your interest in availing of credit facilities from ICICI Bank.  Looking forward to other opportunities to be of service to you in future."

So much for being pre-approved.

The said company has had consistent earnings(as far as the bank can see) and no issues for 4+ years.....sounds like ICICI is not giving out loans to employees unless you can put up equal collateral like gold etc.... Now I am not suggesting a run on the bank, but doesn't this smell like trouble...... Let me know what you think or if you have any similar stories.  I am just a little curious since everyone seems to say that Indian banks are fine....but with regular investors and retail customers screwed there has to be something wrong.

D

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is F*&^ED up man...
Who would have known that something like ICICI would be in this shit so soon...
The recession is going to take its toll on everything...
Might be signs of a bank in deep trouble...
By deep - I mean DEEP...

Thursday, March 12, 2009 11:40:00 PM  

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