Home improvement loans for low income group

MicroBulid India Fund, an initiative led by Habitat for Humanity International and Habitat for Humanity India that aims to support more than 6,000 low income families by providing home loans so that they can improve their homes.

For the purpose Habitat for Humanity International and Habitat for Humanity India has entered in to an agreement with ASK group. In order to reach the masses efficiently the fund will invest in reputable, local microfinance institutions which, in turn, will allow them to offer affordable home improvement loans to low-income families.

A person who is a client of the partner microfinance institution and has maintained a good track record will be eligible to get the loan. The loan amount is expected to stay around Rs. 45,000.

“We know that many low-income families in India face obstacles when trying to secure loans to improve or repair their homes, thanks to support from ASK Group, we are able to unveil the MicroBuild India Fund to give more people access to the financial support they need. This move takes us one step closer to our goal of eliminating substandard housing,” said Rick Hathaway, vice president of Habitat for Humanity International’s Asia-Pacific office.

The ASK Group is delighted to be able to help Habitat for Humanity put the MicroBuild India Fund into operation. It is an innovative program that fills a gap in the microfinance marketplace that desperately needed to be filled. Thousands of people in the future will benefit from the investment Habitat for Humanity is making now,” said the Founder and Chairman of ASK Group Asit Koticha.

Lending rates expected to stand still for a while

Borrowers are going through a very difficult phase due to the soaring interest rates. During the Fiscal year-11 the banks raised their lending rates by 150-200 basis points. During the same time Central Bank raised the rates seven times, it inspired the banks to raise their lending rates too.

This might bring a lot of relief to the borrowers as for this year many experts believes that there are very scanty chances of banks hiking the lending rates during the first half of the new financial year.

Head of financial research team in Macquarie Securities Mr. Suresh Ganapathy said “I don’t think the lending rates will see a hike for the next six months. Post-September possibly, a 50 basis point hike can be expected.”

Due to the regular hike in the interest rates the home loans segment is experiencing a dip, any further hike can retard the growth in the home loan sector to a great extent.

Dhanlaxmi Bank hikes Base Rate

Leading private sector lender, Dhanlaxmi Bank has hiked its Base Rate. The bank has hiked the Base Rate by 50 basis points or 0.50 percent to 8.75 percent.

Base Rate is the rate of interest below which no bank can lend. So the hike will make will make all the new loans dearer by 50 basis points. The BPLR( Benchmark Prime Lending Rate ) offered by the bank is 17.25 percent, and the it has kept that stable.

After the third quarterly review, RBI hiked key lending rates by 25 basis points reacting to the situation; banks have been raising their interest rates.

The revised rates are effective from today itself.

SBT and Allahabad Bank hikes lending rates

State Bank of Travancore and Allahabad Bank has also announced a hike in the lending rates after most of the leading lenders in the country have already hiked their lending rates.

The State Bank of Travancore has raised the base rates by 50 basis points to 9 percent and the Benchmark Prime Lending rates by 25 basis point to 13.75 percent.

The new lending rates will be effective from 16^th February.

Allahabad Bank has also raised the Benchmark Prime Lending rates by 25 basis points to 13.75 percent. the rates will be applicable from 24^th February.

SBBJ hikes deposit and lending rates

Associate Bank of SBI, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur has announced a hike in the deposit rates and the lending rates.

The bank has hiked the deposit rates up by maximum of 75 basis points or 0.75 percent across various maturities and the base rate by 25 basis points or 0.25 percent to 8.75 percent .

The bank has also hiked the benchmark Prime lending rates by 0.25 percent from 13.50 percent to 13.75 percent .

The new rates will be effective from 21st February.

Indian Bank inks deal with TVS Motors

India Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TVS Motors, a leading vehicle manufacturer in the country. According to the agreement, Indian Bank will be the preferred bank to finance the TVS vehicles.

On the occasion the Chairman of Indian Bank T M Bhasin said "The MoU will help to bring three wheeler drivers into structured banking and enhance Bank's collateral free lending."
The bank will provide this service from all the branches present in the country.

The Vice-President (Sales and Service) Three Wheeler division of Tvs Motors, Srinivasan said "Besides Indian Bank we are having tie-up with other public sector undertaking bank .. But this will highly benefit the borrower as they (Indian Bank) offer them to pay about 15 per cent on the on-road price of the vehicle which is comparatively lower."

IDBI and DCB hikes lending rates

IDBI Bank and Development Credit Bank (DCB) have announced a hike in their lending rates. Since, The Reserve Bank of India has announced a hike in the key rates, several lenders including Union Bank , Indian Overseas Bank ,Syndicate Bank and several others have already announced a raise in their lending rates and more banks are expected to hike their lending rates very soon.

IDBI Bank hiked Base Rate by 50 basis points or 0.50 percent to 9.50 percent and BPLR by 0.25 percent to 14 percent whereas DCB hiked both Base Rate and BPLR by 50 basis points to 9 percent and 16.25 percent respectively.

Public sector lender IDBI Bank has also announced a hike in the fixed deposit rates across various maturities.