[India_Vision_2020] Re: [action2020] Relationship building exercise with edu loan student borrowers

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

[India_Vision_2020] Re: [action2020] Relationship building exercise with edu loan student borrowers - Indian Bank way

India Vision 20207:43 PM No comments

Great mail sir. What Indian bank have done is simply great. They have now become a role model for other banks.

I'm sure other banks will also get motivated by this superb initiative by Indian bank and start doing similar camps from their side.

Thanks for bringing this to our notice.

Thanks & Regards,
Kartheeban.
Website: www.teameverest.wordpress.com
Mail: teameverest@yahoo.co.in
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Serve Others and Bring Meaning to Your Life.

From: Prime Point Srinivasan <prpoint@gmail.com>
To: India Vision group <India_Vision_2020@yahoogroups.com>; action2020@yahoogroups.com; Education Loan Task Force ELTF <action2020eltf@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: Education Loan Task Force ELTF <action2020eltf@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, 29 June 2011 2:46 PM
Subject: [action2020] Relationship building exercise with edu loan student borrowers - Indian Bank way

dear all

Present status of Banks-students relationship

Education Loan Task Force (ELTF), under India Vision Group has always been complaining that banks do not show interest in building relationship with edu loan student borrowers.. Most of the banks, even at the time of processing the edu loan applications, treat the students shabily and do not provide proper guidance and also do not sanction or reject the proposals in time.

Further, even after the sanction of the loans, the banks do not build any relationship with those young students. The students are treated more as 'account numbers', than as 'human beings'. We have been interacting with many of the student applicants and borrowers through ELTF. Many of them do not develop loyalty towards the banks, though the banks have helped them to pursue their studies. After completion of the studies, the students earn good money and still the banks do not find them as potential customers. Ultimaely, many of the students, instead of remembering the great support given by the banks for their studies, remember only the bad treatment they had received from the banks. Such indifferent and unfriendly attitude of the bank officials demotivate the students. This is also the main reason for the edu loans becoming NPAs, at a later time.

Appeal by ELTF since two years

Even in the first meeting of ELTF held at Chennai, we appealed to all the Senior officials of the Banks, who were present there to develop a healthy interaction between bank officials and students, at periodical interval. We also suggested this to RBI and to Government to advise the banks, to develop relationship with student borrowers. Though, we have been crying from the roof-top and also mentioning this in our media interviews, so far, none of the banks have taken it seriously.

Indian Bank's new initiative

Though all the banks have never found our suggestion worth, Indian Bank Head Office took it seriously. During the last one month, they have conducted 30 interaction sessions at various centres, on an experimental basis. During these sessions, the student borrowers of Indian Bank branches were invited to the nearest town along with their parents, for one day interaction session. The Bank provided them the refreshments and lunch.

They were received by Zonal Managers and branch managers cordially. . Indian Bank also invited locally known and popular industry CEOs, placement officers, HR experts, social workers to interact with the students and parents in the day-long session. These experts gave advise to the students as to the skills needed for employment. Some of the placement consultants promised them that they would hold 'special placement camps' for Indian Bank student borrowers also.

Views from Indian Bank Dy. General Manager

We spoke to Mr Balakrishnan, Dy. General Manager (Credit) of Indian Bank for his views. He said that they conducted around 30 such camps in different districts covering around 6000 students. The student-borrowers were invited from nearby branches to the nearest town for a day-long session. The response for the first two camps were not encouraging. After seeing the newspaper reports in the local dailies, the students started coming in large numbers in other camps. Even students who wanted to apply for loans also joined the camp.

Mr Balakrishnan said that this exercise has helped the bank to bring the students more closer to the bank officials and to understand the genuine grievances and problems. Also, the bank could update the latest profile of the students in their records.

Since this first experiment has given them sufficient experience, they would conduct more number of camps at the end of every semester, when the students come back for vacation. They would also cover more branches and more students in other states also, Mr Balakrishnan said.

Views from students, who participated

I also spoke to two students Sivaraj and Nimesh, who attended the camp at Coimbatore. I called them over mobile separately. From their talk, I could feel their excitement that the bank had given them importance by organising such meet. It appears that the Regional Manager of the Bank spoke about the importance of prompt repayment of the loan availed by them and how such timely repayment could facilitate the bank to lend more to their own juniors who hail from poor families. This talk has impressed them much and both have determined to repay the loan promptly to the bank, after completion of their studies. These students told me that all the students have gained this feeling.

In addition, these two students have also spread about this Camp to their friends in the college. Indirectly, this initiative has helped Indian Bank to develop their brand image among the students and also to create an awareness about the repayment of the loan.

Six benefits gained by Indian Bank

Now our earlier suggestions have proved right. Indian Bank has shown that through such exercise, they were able to (1) improve the relationship, (2) update the contacts, (3) create awareness about repayment, (4) help the students to improve the employability skills,(5) increase the loyalty of the students towards the bank and (6) above all enhance the credibility and brand image of the bank among youngsters.

I feel the other banks also should start similar exercise covering their student-borrowers. which can help them to gain all the benefits listed above.

Srinivasan

Prime Point Foundation

and Convenor, Education Loan Task Force

www.eltf.co.cc

91766 50273

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