State Bank of India will be more cautious and stringent in associating itself with new projects and lending loans to developers. Speaking at a press conference after inaugurating the three-day ‘SBI Property Fair 2011' here on Friday, J. Chandrasekaran, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India, Local Head Office, Chennai, said “The track record of the developer is a crucial factor the bank looks into.”
On the escalating price of construction material and many ongoing projects getting delayed, Mr. Chandrasekaran said that bank is aware of these developments and it would get selective in linking with the real estate developers. “We would want to get all the necessary clearance and only then associate ourselves with a developer for a project,” said Mr. Chandrasekaran.
He announced from January 1, 2011, SBI has increased its interest rates on home loan as mandated by the Reserve Bank of India. A loan amount of up to Rs.30 lakh would come at an interest of 8.5 per cent in the first year, 9.25 per cent in the second and third years. The same rate of interest would be applied for loan amounts between Rs. 30 lakh and Rs. 75 lakh in the first three years and the floating from the fourth year would be 9.75 per cent. Under its earlier scheme it offered a fixed rate of 8 per cent in the first year.
For the financial year 2010-2011, the Chennai circle comprising Tamil Nadu and Puducherry has disbursed Rs. 1,724 crore towards home loans, with a customer size of 1,52,000 and an outstanding amount of Rs. 9,800 crore. “We thought this year would be slow but it has picked up well. Home loan has become a priority for us,” he said.
Forty per cent of our home loans sanctioned were above Rs. 30 lakh, he added. Nearly 28 builders are participating in the three-day property fair at MRC Centre, MRC Nagar.
