No credit cards for staff of airline, finance & realty cos

New Delhi: If you run a start-up or work in a finance company or are on the rolls of an airline or small-time realtor and want a new credit card, chances are you may not get one. Banks are summarily rejecting credit card applications from people working in these sectors, as the deteriorating financial health of their industries and the economic downturn makes them less creditworthy.
The Indian arm of HSBC recently tightened its credit approval mechanism for people working for non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) and real estate companies.
The UK-based bank is not alone. Both state-run and private banks are making their credit criteria more stringent, expanding the so-called `negative list’ of applicant profiles who are denied credit. A large Mumbai-based public sector bank has stopped extending credit to small entrepreneurs, while a private bank has an even stricter scrutiny for applications from employees of airlines and call centre firms.
Until recently, the negative list of banks tended to feature reporters, lawyers, chartered accountants and junior level police and armed forces personnel, but that list is now expanding even though the law prohibits banks from denying credit to anybody based on one’s profession.
15/11/08 Niranjan Bharati & Rajat Guha/Economic Times

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Nov 2008