Readers' Corner: Banking

Rajiv Anand, executive director, Axis Bank, answers your questions

I have an ongoing two wheeler loan. Can I still take a personal loan from the same bank? Will I have to pay off my earlier loan before I take the personal loan?
 
Personal loan is an unsecured product and can be taken for multiple end uses. A client can avail a personal loan even if he has a two wheeler loan outstanding. However, a thorough credit check of the customer will be done before a personal loan is sanctioned for the customer. This would involve checking customer income, existing obligations (if any), performance on existing loans and accordingly the bank will decide if additional loan in form of personal loan can be sanctioned or not.

 
I want to give an add-on credit card to my daughter. Will the credit limit be the same as mine? Can I ask for a lower credit limit for her?
 

The credit limit on the add-on card, for most banks, is same as the credit limit for the primary customer. However, the client will need to check with his specific bank if they can issue an add-on card with a lower limit.
 
I want to take a loan against my life insurance policy. Will the bank insist on a certain number of years for maturity? My policy will mature next year.

 
For most banks a minimum of three years is required for an insurance policy to be assigned as a collateral for taking loan against life insurance policy. As long as the life insurance policy has a surrender value, Loan facility can be availed.
 
I have repaid my car loan and the bank has given me the letter saying the loan is closed. But I have not yet got the PDC cheques. The bank is asking me to go to its central office to collect them. If I don't collect the cheques will I face any problem?
 
If client requires the unused PDCs/SPDCs to be returned, he/she needs to place a request at the respective bank's loan sales centre within 45 days from the date of loan closure. In this case the PDCs will be handed over to him at the loan sales centre. However, if no request is received within the said period, the unused PDCs/SPDCs will be destroyed by the bank.

 
I want an educational loan. Should I take it jointly with my father? If it is a joint loan, will the bank ask for a collateral?
 
Yes, the education loan can be availed with father or mother as the co-applicant (earning member). The requirement of a collateral security (property/ FD/ shares) will depend on parameters like the credit profile of the student and parents , the institution/university the student is opting for and the loan amount being availed. Collateral is required for any loan amount above Rs 7.50 lakh.
 
I have a savings bank account that I have not used for a long time. I have forgotten the user id and password. How can I get a new one?

 
If the customer has not used his/her savings account for last two years or more, then the account is classified as dormant/inoperative as per existing regulatory guidelines. To re-activate this account, customer will need to visit the nearest bank branch and submit fresh KYC documents to reactivate the account. Post reactivation, the customer can apply for new Internet banking credentials through an application at the bank branch or through any other mode made available by the bank for that purpose.
 
In case the account has not been operated for less than two years, then customer can use the multiple avenues made available by that bank (like internet banking, phone banking, ATM, bank branch etc.) to apply for new credentials for internet banking.

  The views expressed are the expert’s own. Send your queries to yourmoney@bsmail.in