Loan shirks!

I needed an education loan. My first and obvious choice was State Bank of India. I went to the branch that’s closest to my residence and waited in queue to meet the loan ‘executive’. There was only one such executive dealing with all kinds of loans –home loans, car loans, education loans and the works. No doubt he was swamped by a mob, aggravated by the non-stop ringing of his mobile phone.

I waited for two and a half hours, got frustrated and left. I was getting late for work and so decided to go to the branch closer to my workplace. I went to this downtown office of SBI and ended up attracting suspicious looks from the loan officers. I was told that I should visit them with my parents if I wanted a loan. When I explained that I am a parent myself, I was asked: ‘Where’s your husband? Come with him.’

Phew! I got a bit sick of dealing with these obnoxious, staid, ultra-reactionary workers! For god’s sake can somebody explain why I need to be chaperoned when it’s me who needs the education loan? That apart, I do look like a mature student and not a young turk in my early 20s. (Wish I was though…!)

All that I was told was that the loan will be given to my husband and not me, even if I needed it for my own studies. Any more questions were met with further suspicious looks. I looked up online and even there the rules weren’t explained clearly.

The next morning I went to Bank of Baroda because somebody recommended their education loans. They were extremely friendly, but advised me to go to SBI as I didn’t have an account with them. When I told them about my experiences, they told me it’s because I will have to quit my job to pursue the course that I needed a ‘working’ guarantor. That made sense.

So I went back to SBI again, this time with my husband. But no, they tell me that I have to quit my job, get a relieving letter from the company and attach it with my loan application form. The loan takes about one month to process. Are you kidding? That means I quit my job about three months before I begin my course, without any assurance if my loan will be approved or my visa application will get accepted!

I must mention here, I have been an SBI customer for the past 30 years now and about seven years back, I had taken a student loan from them which has been paid back completely.

So, anyway, I gave up my pursuit for a better interest rate from a nationalised bank and headed to the bank that holds my salary account – HDFC Bank. I got excellent service from them and an agent was sent to my residence within the next couple of hours. But I wanted my sister as my guarantor/ co-applicant, because my husband had just returned from an overseas job and his employment papers were not in place. Incidentally, my sister is a working lady and holds a salary account with the same bank. She said she will have no problem, as her relationship manager has offered to process it in a week.

Voila! I sent her all my papers and the application was submitted. But two weeks went by with no correspondence from the bank. When she enquired, she was told the loan application has been rejected. Why? Because a married woman cannot have her sister, another married woman, as her guarantor/ co-applicant. So what’s the way out? My husband is the only person who can be my guarantor/ co-applicant. Period.

By then, a lot of time had gone by. I was also reaching the end of my patience. My husband advised: ‘Forget the education loan. It’s not a big amount. Just go for a simple personal loan.’ And so I did! Now I am paying off a hefty EMI each month. It’s weighing like a dagger on my head, even though my course hasn’t started officially.

So much for all the education loan commercials! Wonder how much revenue they spend on such publicity…

PS: Don’t you feel this is discrimination against married women? Why would their husbands only be their guarantors? Shouldn’t their parents and siblings have an equal right on them as their husbands? I would love to know what happens if the husband opts for an education loan and has a non-working wife. Who is eligible to be his guarantor/ co-applicant?