Yearly Archives: 2014

My secretary discovered the other day that I was the former MD of CIBIL and sheepishly requested for advice – she was getting calls from recovery agents saying and threatening that if she did not pay her outstanding dues on her 5 credit cards, her name would be reported to CIBIL and she would never again get a loan or a credit card in her life! In my mind I am thinking – wow, what did I help build! An organization - a concept…

Your loan application is rejected because you don’t have any credit history? How do you build your credit history ? Well yes it’s a cycle of credit and credit again! As per two recent notification by the Reserve Bank of India, all banks and other lenders need to take into account 'credit information reports (CIRs)' from one or more agencies in all lending decisions and account opening, and also a loan applications should not be rejected just because the applicant has no credit history. So let’s get…

In these times of stiff competition among different lenders, it is observed that there has always been an effort made by each of them to make a difference. An interest rate differential is one such example we could use. This factor surely plays an important role in your Equated Monthly Instalments (EMI) payments and your choice of lender. As there is a difference in the interest rates offered by different lenders, an existing borrower is lured to shift to a lender who quotes a lower interest rate…

Race, religion, gender, nationality, marital status and employment history do not impact credit scores.  It is because these factors do not help in assessing the credit worthiness of an individual. In several countries it is not legal to use these factors to calculate credit scores. Another much debated factor is “income”. Yes, income does not impact your “credit score” but it could impact your “credit worthiness”. Whilst the bank would be interested in knowing your income in your loan application form, it is not included in the credit…

In today’s age and time everyone holds a credit card; well almost everyone! Whilst it is a convenient option for many of us….strangely it is also a “cool” option for few! Flaunting a wallet with different credit cards in a party or at a shopping mall is definitely looked upon as “cool”. But how many credit cards should you hold? How many credit cards make you “cool”? “One size fits all” solution does not work here. So a working professional can hold 2 cards and…

Hi! How are you? Summers are here! What better season and reason to go on a holiday with family & friends. I have planned my trip to London…how about you? I have been planning this trip from a long time and had also set aside a budget. This time I used a simple technique…called the “Envelope budget” and trust me it helped me keep a tidy budget… Here is how you can go about with “Envelope Budget” First rule…

Hi How have you been? So, wouldn’t it be a fair assumption that all human beings have credit history, provided she has borrowed. What about God then? Does he have a credit history too? Strangely, the answer seems to be yes! Well, that is what God Gazarov seems to be saying. God Gazarov, a Brooklyn based businessman was falsely reported for having no credit history. The fact although remains that he does have one. As a result God could not purchase his…

Hi How have you been? Election fever is here and we are going to be a part of this history. Technically, the future of India is in our hands...well at least as far as the next 5 years are concerned. But how much do we know about our candidate? Internet giant Google recently launched a new tool to facilitate citizens to access relevant information about various candidates. Credit obsessed as I am, I…

If you look around, you will find strong, independent, successful women featuring in various lists of “Most powerful women” in the country. And it’s true, you see more women climbing the corporate ladder, more women entrepreneurs. If you look around further, you will also find numerous articles and research talking about how women tend to be more financially disciplined than men. But then again, it’s almost a “fact” that they spend more on “unplanned” shopping sprees. Nothing wrong with that, but at the end of the day,…

The third eye is said to be the eye of insight - an eye that provides a vision beyond the ordinary. So is Credit Counselling a Third Eye to your Financial Planning? Well we will find out! The concept of Financial Planning is surely better known than Credit Counselling. But let me begin with decoding each concept…step by step! Financial Planning, at its simplest can be defined as a process wherein a Financial Planner would examine your current financial situation, understand future financial goals and then develop…