Crossing a business turnover of Rs 67,000 crore in 2021, the leading urban cooperative bank of India-Saraswat Co-op Bank is now offering pre-approved Education Loans to help students realize their educational goals and aspirations at rates and conditions most suitable to them.
Exhibiting a keen business sense thrown up in the wake of Covid induced lockdowns, the Saraswat Bank intends to be a partner of many of them who are joining Open and Distance Learning (ODL) or what is widely recognized as online courses.
Achieving a Net Profit of Rs 270.24 crore and keeping its NPAs at a low level of 1.04% in the current fiscal, Saraswat Bank is offering pre-approved Educations Loan at 8.50% p.a. Additionally, it extends other benefits like 100% finance of course fees, a special rate of 8.00% p.a. for girl students, zero processing fee, etc.
A press release from the Bank reads “The Covid-19 pandemic has drastically impacted the financial position of many households. Banks and other financial institutions have played a pivotal role during this period by lowering their lending costs. Saraswat Bank has already reduced its interest rates on various loan products like Housing Loan, Car Loan, Loan Against Property, Gold Loan, and Education Loan.”
“Covid-19 and the frequent lockdowns have impacted the education system to a great extent. But amidst these challenges, the pandemic has also opened various avenues, one of which is Open and Distance Learning (ODL). This has recently given wide recognition to many online courses”, reads the release.
As a new feature in its Education Loan, Saraswat Bank has made provisions to extend finance to these courses (in India and abroad) as well, thus accepting and supporting the new curriculum avenue, it said.
Another such impact of the pandemic is the amplification of the currency exchange rate fluctuations faced by users while doing forex transactions. 25% discount on commission on purchases of Foreign currency or Forex remittance that is offered by the Bank to the borrowers have turned out to be a small ray of relief in this scenario, goes on the release.
“While opting for Saraswat Bank’s Education Loan, various parameters like reduced interest rate, flexibility in loan tenure through moratorium, concessions on processing fee and other charges, special benefits to girl students, etc. will help alleviate students’ financial burdens”, claims the release.
It bears recalling that the Saraswat Bank has been recognized amongst the World’s Best Banks by the prestigious Forbes survey for two years in a row. It has also bagged the “Best Technology Bank” Award for the 5th consecutive year at Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) Technology Awards 2021 in the cooperative banking sector, along with an award for Best IT Risk & Cyber Security Initiatives and Runner-Up for Best Digital Financial Inclusion Initiatives.