SBI, the country’s largest government bank, has rolled out a unique plan to encourage prompt EMI payments.
If you’re an SBI customer who has taken a loan and the bank suspects you might miss a monthly payment, they’ve prepared something special for you.
Chocolates for Delinquent Payers
In a bid to boost timely repayments, SBI will send chocolates to customers’ homes if it anticipates a payment delay.
Often, customers who miss EMIs ignore the bank’s reminder calls, indicating an intention to default. To counter this, SBI will now remind them to pay through a sweet gesture.
Efforts to Enhance Loan Repayment
SBI’s initiative comes amid a surge in retail loans across the banking industry, resulting in an uptick in monthly EMI defaults.
To address this issue, banks are launching various campaigns to promote EMI repayments. SBI’s chocolate scheme is part of its efforts to ensure better recovery.
SBI’s Soaring Retail Loans
SBI’s retail loans reached Rs 12,04,279 crore in the June 2023 quarter, up from Rs 10,34,111 crore in the same period a year ago, marking a 16.46 percent increase in one year. These loans now constitute the largest share of the bank’s loan book, with the bank’s total borrowing reaching Rs 33,03,731 crore in June 2023.
Ongoing Bank Experiment
Ashwini Kumar Tiwari, Managing Director of SBI and head of Risk, Compliance, Stressed Assets, revealed that the bank’s campaign is in its pilot stage and was initiated just 10-15 days ago. T
he initial response has been positive, with collections showing improvement. If the pilot proves successful, it may be implemented on a larger scale.
