The Financial Planning Standards Board India, which with IIM Lucknow recently conducted a study to benchmark participating financial institutions on various aspects of responsible lending, plans to undertake a survey involving the borrowers in 2019.
The survey next year would focus on consumer expectations and response, FPSB India Vice Chairman and CEO Ranjeet S. Mudholkar said here on Tuesday. A decision on the partner institution is yet to be taken, he replied to a query.
Mr. Mudholkar was interacting with presspersons in the city on the report of ‘A Navigator Study on Responsible Lending for India’, which he pointed out was the first of its kind in the country and as part of which research was conducted during July-December 2017. Focused on two sectors — personal loan and consumer durable loan — the study assessed several leading banks and financial institutions on their loan application process; information provided; fees and charges; loan servicing; and measures to improve financial inclusion.
The project involved data collection through questionnaires, applying quantitative research tools and to convert the data collected in ranks. Within both the type of loan, focus was on small ticket loans — up to an amount of ₹15,000 — as this “class of borrowers needs a navigator more than any other.”
The study findings, with regard to financial inclusion, stressed the need for many players, in the personal loan segment, to expand their services to bring within the ambit the under-banked population. In consumer durable loans, the report said most of the lenders need to reorient their client portfolio to make it more inclusive for the economically weaker sections.
Stating that future editions of this study can be carried out on an expanded sample base, the report said: “An expanded sample size would probably yield deeper insights into responsible lending practices.”
