Banking on the wife

Bharatiya Mahila Bank, India's first women-focused bank, is flooded with requests for loans since its launch about six months ago. Ironically, however, very few of the loan seekers are women. The bank has been receiving several calls from men asking for loans for their wives and when the bank staff asks them what they will do with the money, the stock answer is, "She will do something, we have not decided yet. You give the loan first." Naturally, the bank staff is spending a good part of its time explaining to customers that a women's bank doesn't mean interest-free loans or loans without purpose.