Andhra Bank launches automobile loan scheme for women

Andhra Bank chairman and managing director, TS Narayanasami, said the new loan product `AB Vanitha Vahan' for the purchase of two or four-wheeler vehicles offers 50 basis points reduction in the rate of interest.

The scheme also offers another 50 basis points of concession in the rate of interest for prompt payment at the time of closure of the loan account and does not attract any processing charges, he said.

The bank would provide finance up to 90 per cent of the road price for two and four-wheelers, both for new and pre-owned ones.

The bank has reduced the rate of interest on four-wheelers to 8.75 per cent from 9.25 per cent for a repayment period of up to 36 months and to nine per cent from 9.5 per cent for a repayment period of over 36 months. In the case of two-wheelers, the interest rate was slashed to 9.25 per cent from 9.75 per cent on 36 months repayment schedule, while it was reduced to 9.5 per cent from 10 per cent for above 36 months repayment plan.

Stating that the bank has already recorded a portfolio of Rs 65 crore on vehicle loans during the current fiscal, Narayanasami said the bank expects to disburse another Rs 100 crore of loans through the new scheme alone.

Explaining the strategy behind focussing on women for enhancing credit portfolio, the executive director, R Balakrishnan, said the number of women in the salaried, professional as well as self-employed categories has been witnessing a growth every year. The bank's credit to women now stands at Rs 1,043 crore, constituting 7.08 per cent as against the norm of five per cent.