State bank of india credit card

With the Supreme Court coming down hard on credit card companies for charging exorbitant interest rates - in excess of 42 per cent a year in many cases - card users can breathe easy, at least for sometime.

Credit card companies, on their part, have argued that they need to charge these rates from the 'existing cardholders' for a variety of reasons - cost of courier, cost of marketing, cost of rewards and loyalty programmes and many others.

The figure - over 42 per cent a year itself, reminds one of all the 60s and 70s Hindi movies, where a village moneylender charged usurious rates of interest. And the inability of villagers to pay puts them in a financial hellhole.

In case of a credit card user, the situation can become quite similar. But here, usually the problem is irresponsible use. Also, a very few take the trouble of reading the card statement properly, which would make them aware of the all the small charges that the card company imposes, even for small requirements like generation of a new pin number or duplicate statements.

In other words, a credit card is simply a slickly-packaged, but atrociously-priced personal loan. It has its utilities, but the charges far outweigh the benefits.

Here are some of the regular costs

Interest cost: The biggest one. This can range from 2.79 - 3.9 per cent per month.

Late payment fee: Credit card companies charge Rs 350 per month on outstanding amount less than Rs 10,000. For outstanding balances between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 the charges are Rs 500 and can go up to Rs 600, for higher amounts.

Overdraft limit: There is a charge if a customer exceeds the credit limit. This varies from issuer to issuer.

Overdue: For overdue accounts and payments that companies collect by sending an executive to the customer, there is a fees of Rs 75.

Cash advance: If the card holder withdraws from the ATM, there is a charge of 3 per cent on the total money withdrawn or Rs 300, whichever is higher. For money drawn through a branch, credit card companies levy an additional fee of Rs 500.

Joining and annual fees: Considering the competition in the credit card apace, a lot of banks entice customers with no joining fees. Later the card holder is charged the annual fees.

Duplicate statement fee: The card issuers, for instance Standard Chartered, charges Rs 25 per statement if the requested statement is more than three months old. Issuers such as SBI Credit Card charge Rs 100. (In fact, most representatives at SBI quote a charge for duplicate e-statements as well).

Foreign currency transactions: Transactions outside the country are converted into Indian Rupee at a rate suggested by Visa/Master (network infrastructure provider). Apart from charging 2.5 per cent on foreign transactions, banks levy an extra 1 per cent towards reimbursements to Visa/Master.

There are other charges on cheque return, pin replacement, card replacement and outstation teledraft.

And it does not end there. Even the government penalises expenses on credit cards by charging the customer a service tax of 12.36 per cent on the total value of the transaction.

However, even a customer who may roll over, yet prepays as much as possible, (above the minimum 5 per cent) does suffer because of the way the interest on the outstanding amount is calculated. Let's take an example of how credit card companies charge. Typically, most credit cards allow a person to pay between 5-10 per cent of the outstanding. The rest can be rolled over to the next month.

But even if the card holder prepays a good 40 per cent of the outstanding bill, the card issuer does not take into consideration this paid amount. Instead, the credit card company keep charging interest on all the transactions made until the entire outstanding is paid off.

Dena Bank will jointly launch a credit card with State Bank of India next month, for which negotiations are in an advanced stage.

The Chairman and Managing Director of Dena Bank, Mr P.L. Gairola, who was in Goa on a two-day visit to attend a managers' review meet, told presspersons here that the bank did not have a strong credit card business despite being in it for over 10 years.

"We have not been very aggressive in this business. Our credit card base has been around 10,000 customers and we are confident that with the tie-up with the SBI credit card, we will get a very broad card base," Mr Gairola said.

The move is to get the SBI to take the process of card business as well as credit risk. The formula of revenue sharing would be settled by negotiations, the CMD said.

Taking stock of the bank's branch and ATM network, Mr Gairola said that the bank, with 1,165 branches, intends to set up 26 branches during the year, while it proposes to increase its ATM network from 325 to 475.

The bank has brought 300 of its main branches under core banking through an integrated computer network, which covers 64 per cent of its core business. By December 2009, it plans to raise it to 900 branches, which would mean almost 94 per cent of its core business would be covered under the centralised computer network across the country.

Banks are increasingly allowing borrowers to convert credit card dues into personal loans in a bid to stave off defaults triggered by inflation and rising rates. All leading banks are offering investors an option to pay for purchases in installments. While some are being proactive, others are offering them as part of a restructuring package after classifying the customer as delinquent. I have compare credit cards india here offered by all major banks growing in the market.

According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), credit card transactions amounted to over Rs 60,000 crore between May 2007 and May 2008. RBI data also show that around 20% of card transactions were rolled over, resulting in Rs 12,000 crore of credit card receivables, which are classified as loans by banks. In the previous year, the amount classified as loans was less than 10% of credit card transactions. Rising interest rates and prices are eating into the disposable income of borrowers, increasing the chances of default.

Dues under a credit card after the initial interest-free period attract interest rates of over 18-38%. As against this, personal loans are available at rates starting from 14%. Although this facility of allowing cardholders to pay for purchases in instalments has been available for some time, banks have recently started becoming more proactive. In some cases, banks suggest it as soon as a customer makes a large transaction. Other banks make this offer when a customer fails to make a large payment. At present, SBI Cards offer the EMI scheme on transactions of more than Rs 2,500.

Banks start monitoring customers who have not been consistent with their payments. "We have an idea about customers' spending patterns through the transaction monitoring alert system. If a customer spends an average of Rs 8,000 on his credit card every month and suddenly we witness a transaction of Rs 50,000 billed in his name, we call the customer. We inform the customer that he/she has an option to convert it into EMIs, which could weigh lesser on his pocket," said ICICI Bank head, cards group, Sachin Khandelwal.

If a customer planning to buy an appliance for Rs 20,000 ends up spending Rs 40,000 on a higher-end product, we offer these options to customers at the store itself, Mr Khandelwal added.

Have you noticed that over the last couple of months those pesky phone calls to give you credit cards have just stopped? That's because banks are now not so keen to give you credit cards any more. Not so long ago, banks did all they could to give you credit cards, now things have changed. Rising defaults have made cards a high risk business and that's made banks slow down their credit card expansion.

Axis Bank, for instance, will not give you a credit card unless you have an account with the bank. This is after the bank's NPAs are up 27% this year because of higher credit card defaults. It's not very different for other banks either. SBI cards is expected to chalk up NPAs of about 16% this year and with around 3.1 million credit card holders, the bank is now largely targetting SBI customers only.

HDFC Bank says this has always been its policy tapping its own pool of 4.1 million customers to sell credit cards but this bank too has raised rates on credit card overdrafts sharply, in a bid to reduce risks. ICICI Bank, the dominant player in the card market is the only one for whom it's business as usual. Bank officals say they are expanding their credit card base by targetting other bank's customers as well. But ICICI Is the exception, others banks are clearly getting very choosy with their credit card customers.

The State Bank is launching a 'Cash Back' for its Debit Card holders through out the country, from 1st July to 31st August 2008. During this period, customers of State Bank of India and its Associate Banks using their Debit Cards for making payments for Rs.501/- or above will get cash back up to 5%.

Cash back, however, will not be available on ATM withdrawals and Internet transactions and will be credited to customers' accounts within 4-6 weeks of the end of the Campaign. The maximum amount of cash back during the period of offer will be Rs.1000/- per debit card.

State Bank Group is the largest debit card issuer in the country with more than 37 million Debit Card holders, who have access to more than 8500 ATMs of the Bank and about 9000 additional ATMs of 13 other banks under bilateral sharing arrangements.

Besides, cash withdrawals and other utilities like fund transfer, donations, mobile top up, payment of fees, etc., State Bank customers can also use their debit cards to pay for purchases, restaurant bills, hotel bills, airline tickets, etc. Using Debit Cards for payment for goods and services is easier than writing cheques and safer than carrying cash. Unlike a SBI credit card, debit cards allow users greater control over their expenses with no chance of overspending. There is no fear of penalty and interest charges for late payment.

SBI Chief General Manager (Hyderabad) RK Sharma visited the bank branch at Dabilpur on Friday and reviewed implementation of the farm loan waiver scheme.

Addressing bank customers, pensioners and self-help group members, he explained the initiatives taken by the bank for rural development. Later, he distributed loans to SHG members and presented SBI talent awards to meritorious students of the Government Junior College, Medchal.

Bank officials I Ramachandra Reddy, TP Vamana Rao and Bindu Janardhanan were also present on the occasion.

Jayant Bhadauria, 34, head of education solutions at Adobe India, is expecting his second child this month. He has his heart set on a Shoppers' Stop pram that costs Rs 7,800. Says Bhadauria: "I liked the pram. To dish out Rs 7,800 would hurt, but since I have credit card points to redeem I don't mind the indulgence."

Credit cards don't just substitute for cash, they can also earn you reward points. "I use cards for their convenience and other benefits which I can milk," says Bhadauria. And you, too, can tap the monetary value of the points collected on your card.

How to accumulate points?

Every time you swipe your credit card to make a purchase, you collect reward points. Typically, you get one point per Rs 100-250 spent. This, however, depends on the card and the bank. For instance, banks offer more points on co-branded cards. State Bank of India gives one point per Rs 40 spent on its Gold Card and eight points per Rs 100 on its co-branded Tata Card.

The value of each reward point also varies across credit cards and banks. Says Sachin Khandelwal, head (cards), ICICI Bank: "The value of a point can be anywhere between 30 paise to a rupee and is also a function of the merchant partner in case of co-branded cards." For example, the value of one point on the SBI Gold Card is 70 paise, while it is Re 1 on the SBI-Tata Card.

The limitation with most accelerated reward points on co-branded cards, however, is that they can be redeemed only against products and services of the partnered establishment.

One also needs to remember that points get accumulated against spends (that too, not all of them), not for cash withdrawals.

How to redeem points?

What to redeem on. Earlier, banks offered a limited catalogue of products. Plus the prices were very high and one couldn't negotiate on them. But now there is a laundry list of what you can do with the points.

For starters, there is the conventional catalogue that includes apparel, gadgets, jewellery, luggage items, and the like. You can also encash your points against gift vouchers. For instance, with HDFC Bank's Gold Card you can get gift vouchers from Domino's, Cafe Coffee Day, Pantaloons, Westside, Lee, Music World and Landmark.

Going a step further, some banks have tie-ups with certain merchants where you can redeem points instantly. You don't have to contact the bank and get vouchers; you can pay using the points.

When the card is swiped, the reward points get reflected on the machine. So, if you have accumulated points worth, say, Rs 500 and you buy goods worth Rs 1,000, the merchant will offer you the choice of using your points for payment.

Some banks now offer air tickets on reward points, a feature that was earlier limited to co-branded cards. For instance, HDFC Bank has tied up with Jet Airways, Indian and Kingfisher Airlines to allow its card users to convert their reward points into air miles. The value of one air mile is usually equal to one reward point.

"The air miles required to get complimentary tickets would depend on the airline and the travel sector," says Parag Rao, executive vice-president, head (product and portfolio management), credit cards, HDFC Bank.

Some banks, like Bank of Baroda, also let you redeem your reward points against cash. That is, cash corresponding to your reward points are credited to your account. Deutsche Bank does the same on its Gold Card, but also offers a gift catalogue.

In a bid to revamp the ailing credit card business SBI is planning to restructure the business from top to bottom, be it managerial, technological or business strategy.

The dismal performance of the particular subsidiary hasn't gone well with the bank.

"We are addressing the issue seriously, as its the only subsidiary which is running into losses," said C Narasimhan, deputy managing director and group executive (global markets).

SBI Cards have incurred a loss of around Rs 150 crore in the last fiscal with NPA at around 16.25 per cent.

Also, the largest public sector bank is replacing the existing CEO of SBI Cards, Roopam Asthana, from GE Money with its own officer. In addition to this, the bank is planning to place 12 of its officers in the joint venture company.
According to another deputy managing director of the bank, who is also one of the board members, the bank is exploring every option including new partners.

"We are considering every options. We might look for a new partner as well," he said while talking to Business Standard.

He also added that the bank is ready to forego business growth in a bid to consolidate the existing business.
"We would try to channelise the entire distribution through our branches only to ensure proper scrutiny of the prospective card holders," he said.
Similarly proper delinquencies would be ensured while online processing, and the marketing strategies too would be revisited.

However, OP Bhatt, chairman and managing director of SBI, dismissed any claims regarding new partners or differences with the GE Money.

"We will have our own CEO from now and along with this we are planning to implant a dozen officers in the card business.

We will be meeting the GE people some time next month and discuss the issue," said Bhatt,

"There are no differences in opinion with GE and we are working together in finalising the restructuring process," he added.

SBI Cards is a 60:40 joint venture between SBI and GE Money and it has issued more than 3.1 million cards till date.

No capital infusion in FY09, says SBI Chairman O P Bhatt.

After reaching an understanding with GE Money to bring troubled SBI Cards back on the track, State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to focus on improving the card company's asset quality instead of aggressively growing business volumes. Besides, in a reversal from its earlier plan, the bank may not infuse more capital into SBI Cards in 2008-09.

The country's largest bank will now acquire management control in SBI Cards & Payment Services. It holds a 60 per cent stake in the joint venture. The bank and GE have decided to expand business of the company to personal loans and credit insurance.

SBI Chairman O P Bhatt told Business Standard that the entity may not grow the book aggressively in the present financial year. The card company will work to arrest and bring down defaults, improve asset quality and make all efforts to stop making losses.

According to rating agency Crisil, the company's delinquencies have shown an increasing trend and as on September 30, 2007, they were at 5.6 per cent on the past dues basis of over 90 days' past dues against 4.4 per cent a year ago.

The rise in the delinquency rate is on account of an increasing number of delinquent accounts from the lower income category. The risks of default have been further intensified due to recent controversies on aggressive collection mechanisms used by some lenders.

Along with the rise in defaults, the card company has also seen a rise in its costs. SBI Cards' credit costs increased to 20.8 per cent in the half-year ended September 2007 from 8.3 per cent in the year ended March 2007 and 6.2 per cent in 2005-06.

The company suffered a loss of Rs 150 crore in 2007-08. Asked about any plans to put more capital in FY09 to support business, the SBI chief said, "In March 2008, the bank had infused Rs 250 crore into SBI Cards. At present, there are no plans to pump additional capital, unless it makes losses."

Bhatt expects SBI Cards to benefit from the bank's vast network. "Now with our person at the helm, we expect more synergy with SBI's operations," he added. SBI has decided to appoint one of its chief general manager, Diwakar Gupta, as chief executive of the card company.

At present, SBI Cards' tier-II bonds enjoy AAA rating, reflecting support it derives from SBI and GE Capital Corporation.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India today asked the borrowers to control credit card debt and get rid of high-cost liabilities at all cost.

"Control credit card debt. Do whatever you can to get rid of your high-interest debt," SBI said in an advertisement campaign launched to educate borrowers on mitigating financial risks.

The campaign follows the suggestions of the Reserve Bank of India about the need to educate borrowers who often fall into debt trap by taking loans beyond their capacity to repay. You may compare SBI credit cards here to find more exciting discounts and cash back offers.

SBI also advised bank account holders to safegaurd their accounts by setting up overdraft protection and scheduling automatic repayments.

In the educational campaign, SBI urged the customers to save and invest by establishing emergency funds and opening retirement accounts.

Asking the borrowers not to accept the advise of financial consultants without questioning, the SBI urged the people to explore the possibility of investing in mutual funds.

"When saving becomes a priority, you will truly begin to accumulate wealth," the SBI added.

Low cost carrier,Deccan in association with State Bank of India has announced its special fixed fare offer called "SBI card Flat Fare" for all SBI credit card holders.

A fixed fare of Rs.499- (Basic fare) will be offered to passengers booking on Deccan using their SBI credit card. Taxes and surcharge,as applicable will be borne by the passenger, Deccan said in a release here today.

The offer is valid only for bookings made through the Deccan call centre (Prefix city code 39008888). Bookings under the offer are on till March 15 and valid for travel from January 15 to March 31.

This offer cannot be combined with any other package/scheme.Limited numbers of tickets are available under the offer and will be offered on a first come first serve basis.

Ramki Sundaram, officiating CEO Deccan, said "Innovation in pricing is a Deccan tradition which helps us continually expand our consumer base. With dynamic pricing having become the norm for airline bookings in India, our offer of a fixed basic fare allows people to hold and book on affordable fares. Given that SBI is India's banking giant with a strong presence in every part of India, our SBI card- Flat fare offer will also help us tap into a wide and varied consumer base. The offer is a value added delight to our passengers".

State Bank of India has entered into an alliance with India Post in Kerala for making available some of its services to the public in financial inclusion. An agreement to this effect was signed here on Wednesday between Niranjan Parsha, General Manager, SBI, Kerala Circle, and Mervin Alexander, Director of Postal Services, India Post. As per the agreement, India Post will act as a business facilitator/business correspondent of SBI to extend the reach of banking services, especially in un-banked or under-banked areas. Select post offices in the State will make available to the public SBI credit cards, deposit and loan products.

source: Sify

SBI Cards, the second largest issuer of credit cards, has topped the list of complaints from credit cardholders, with the banking ombudsman receiving 2,654 complaints against it. ICICI Bank, the largest credit card issuer, with 1,451 complaints follows SBI Cards in the list.

A senior RBI official said, "The complaints range from using strong-arm tactics to recover money, levy of excessive rates, charging customers for false transactions, among others. These are very serious complaints. Almost 90 per cent of the cases that come to the ombudsman are awarded in favour of the customers."

The highest number of customer complaints received by the banking ombudsman relate to credit cards. Of 34,499 complaints, 7,669 are related to credit cards.

An SBI Cards official said, "The numbers do not give the right picture as they include all cards-related complaints including debit cards."

Some credit card holders pay their bill off every month, and basically use the cards for convenience. Others may find themselves in a bind due to hospital bills or expenses due to operating a business. What ever the reason for the revolving credit card balances, there are things you can do to keep your bills lower.

Of course the first thing to do is pay the bills on time. If you are late, and it is your first time, the late fee could be waived. You will need to call your credit card company and ask though. If you are late, make every effort to pay it as soon as possible. Every negative entry on your credit could cost you. Check out the SBI credit cards for low interest and more cash back on your every purchase.

Some credit card companies might raise your interest rate on your card even if you were not late paying them. In other words, being late on one card could affect the interest rates on all of your other cards.

State Bank of India, UTI AMC and Life Insurance Corporation will start investing the corpus of the new pension system (NPS), estimated around Rs 2,000 crore now, in market instruments including 15 per cent in equities from end-June 2008.

SBI Credit Cards are now offering you the great cash back discount on your every purchase. Make your deals today to benefit more n' more.

Three fund managers sponsored by SBI, UTI AMC and LIC will manage the pension corpus in the ratio of 55 per cent, 40 per cent and 5 per cent respectively, said D Swarup, chairman of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority.

"The pension fund managers will start operations latest by June-end, 2008," Swarup said. Besides three fund managers, the PFRDA has appointed National Securities Depository Limited to act as the Central Record Keeping Agency for the system for a fee of Rs 10 lakh per annum to the regulator. "NSDL is expected to start operations by June 1, 2008," he said.

Recently, it was Johnson & Johnson (J&J) that got into trouble over dogs and cockatoos. Now it is the turn of State Bank of India (SBI).
Over a chicken.
The government's Animal Welfare Board of India has demanded that the public sector bank pull its widely shown new television commercial that uses a chicken laying golden eggs to sell the benefits of a new SBI credit card.
According to the board, the producers of the advertisement failed to take necessary permissions that are a pre-requisite in India for using live animals in commercials.
To complicate matters for SBI, animal activists are alleging that the bank has not pulled the ad after promising to do so in a 7 November letter written by Roopam Asthana, chief executive of SBI Cards, which is the country's second largest credit card issuer.

As you have probably noticed by now, not all credit cards are the same. Each different type offers you different rates of interest, charge different fees, have different benefits, and some even carry reward incentives. When choosing the right credit cards for your wallet, these are all things you should be considering. It is important when looking into credit cards that you do some comparison-shopping, find the best deals, with incentives that best fit your lifestyle.

State Bank of India offers you the best rates for your credit card so right away compare them with other players in the market.

Perhaps the most important aspect of choosing credit cards is the rate of interest, especially for those who tend to roll over balances from month to month. Most credit cards off a spectacular introductory rate, which could be zero percent interest. However, the introductory rates only last from six months to one year, after which, you will be charged the regular interest rate. You will want to pay close attention to what the interest rates will be after the introductory period has expired.

Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) has launched CSB Credit Card, in association with SBI Cards & Payment Services Private Limited. It was launched here on Friday by R. Venkataraman, Chairman of CSB, and Roopam Asthana, Chief Executive Officer of SBI Card.

Mr.Venkataraman said the co-branded product would significantly support the future business growth strategy. It would also enrich the bank's product range to retail banking customers, he said.

Mr. Asthana said the strategic tie-up with CSB would enable the SBI Card to enhance the partnership card programme.

SBI Card is a joint venture between State Bank of India and GE Money.

The SBI Card has joined hands with Catholic Syrian Bank CSB in Kerala for its 'Partnership Card Programmes'.

Announcing the decision, Roopam Asthana, CEO SBI Card said: "This is a strategic tie-up with CSB to further our focus of Partnership Card Programmes in India. We are very pleased with this partnership and through this Credit Card; we shall support CSB's efforts to expand their product offering to its ever-increasing customer base."

Asthana said that the credit card penetration in the country is only 2.8 per 100 people, which is half of the credit card usage in China.

SBI Card, a joint venture between SBI and GE Money, and the 2nd largest Credit Card issuer in the country, announces India's first credit card 'Paycash' payment option for its customers through Easy Bill payment outlets in India.

This facility will enable SBI Card customers to make direct cash payment for their outstandings at 3500 available Easy Billl merchant outlets throughout India. This is for the first time, a credit card company has introduced a cash payment option.

Speaking on the initiative, Mr. Roopam Asthana CEO, SBI Cards & Payment Services Pvt Ltd, said, "At SBI Card, it is our constant endeavor to provide greater value proposition to our customers each time. This initiative of making payments easier is yet another step in enhancing customer satisfaction, which is the top priority at SBI Card"

I have not been receiving the monthly statements regularly of my State Bank of India credit cards since the beginning of this year. Duplicate statements are sent after repeated requests on the helpline to the customer care officer. Late charges are levied for no fault of mine as I cannot make payments without seeing the statements.
Payments for the month of January 2007, February 2007, March 2007 and May 2007 have been made on duplicate statements received after repeated requests on the helpline to the customer care officer.
I have made a payment of Rs 6,079 to a courier of the bank on basis of a duplicate statement and I have been charged for the courier. The payment was made after deducting the late payment charges and finance charges as per advice of the customer care officer.
I have received the statements of June and July 2007 on 19 September. The bills show late charges, and finance charges. The customer care has reversed the late charges but I am told that I have to pay the interest charges.

SBI Cards, a joint venture between the nationalised State Bank of India and a private company has approached the Delhi High Court contending it is a private entity and does not fall within the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The verdict in this case will decide whether a business scheme launched by a public sector bank - such as credit cards, home loans and other services - with a private company would be a private or a public entity.

On a petition by SBI Cards & Payment Services (SBI Cards), Justice S. Ravinder Bhatt of Delhi High Court last week issued notices to the Central Information Commission (CIC), besides the RBI and two SBI Cards customers.

"SBI and GE Capital Services is the second largest credit card issuer in the country with over 3.5 mil-lion card holders and the considering the ever increasing numbers, the concept of cashless freedom doesn't look impossible." Roopam Asthana, CEO, SBI cards & payment services told in an Interview.

Why hasn't the credit card industry in India witnessed the same success as in the West?

To say that it hasn't taken off would be unfair. But there have been factors such as no credit rating mechanism, lack of infrastructure and the initial conservative attitude among the people which has slowed down the growth. Today, there are only 2.8 cardholders per 100 people even in the top ten cities. So you can see the immense potential that the industry has to offer.

So, is the company focusing only on metro cities?

It isn't so. Those residing in the metros are spoilt for choices. The real growth is in the Tier II and III cities. I don't believe that those in small cities are apprehensive about credit cards. It's not about attitude but opportunity. As a credit card company, we've to break that circle. If tomorrow you have shops in your city which accept credit cards the usage will itself rise.

How do you plan to target the smaller cities? Do you've a road map?

First and foremost we've the legacy of one of our parent company SBI. Our brand is our USP. In any small town of the country you'll find our branch, and that is a big advantage, which no credit card company enjoys. In 2004, we were at 44 locations, today we've our presence in 110 locations, which will soon rise up to 150 by the end of the current fiscal. The third is our sales force, we'll be engaging 10,000 people by the end of June 2008. So in a nutshell we're working on all fronts to make our presence felt.

SBI Cards has quietly zoomed past Citibank to become the second largest credit card company in the country by issuing 2.92 million cards.

SBI Cards has become the second largest card company by July-end and the total number of credit cards issued stands at 2.92 million as on August 15, 2006," SBI Cards CEO Roopam Asthana told the media.

Asthana said on an average SBI Cards, a joint venture between State Bank of India and GE Money - issues 1.3 lakh credit cards every month.

Growing by 60-70 per cent year-on-year, SBI Cards is expected to give a tough fight to ICICI Bank, which is at present the number one credit card issuer at over 5 million.

HomeShop18 offers for SBI Card users

%u2022 HomeShop18 introduces catalogue marketing initiative

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%u2022 Great products at exclusive prices

%u2022 35 lakh SBI Card holders receive catalogues with their monthly credit card statement

HomeShop18, India's most credible virtual shopping brand from the Network18 Group joins hands with SBI Card, the 2nd largest credit card company in India, to add a whole new dimension to virtual retail. This long-term association offers unparalleled convenience of 'anytime shopping' for the credit card holders, not only giving them an edge, but also prices and propositions they can't resist from the comfort of their homes. HomeShop18 offers quality products to its customers through different channels like TV, e-commerce and catalogues. With this alliance, 35,00,000 SBI Card holders will receive a catalogue that offers a range of exciting value-added products.

The catalogue offers product from various categories like electronics, jewellery, home and kitchen, lifestyle, kids and toys and much more. HomeShop18 has also created URLwww.homeshop18/sbicardon - their website, especially for the card holders, so that they can login directly and access the catalogue online.

That Indians are increasingly living off plastic money is a given. But having spent money which is not theirs, many are finding it hard to repay it. The default rate on credit cards is the highest across different loan categories in the country.

The rate for credit cards has risen from 7-9 % of total outstanding payments last year to about 10-12 % this year. In contrast, the default rate is 3-4 % for personal loans, 2% for auto and two-wheeler loans and is less than 1% for mortgage loans.

Experts say with growing daily expenses and rising EMIs on existing loans, the number of customers defaulting on credit card payments has risen significantly in the past one year. "Customers are over-leveraging themselves due to the rising cost of daily expenses and the increase in interest rates making their existing loans costlier. However, this is a temporary phase and delinquency rates will fall after a few quarters as the entire industry goes through a correction," said SBI Card CEO Roopam Asthana.

State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to join with hands with Post offices to stretch out to most distant Indian villages. Finance Minister, P Chidambaram announced in Lok Sabha that the bank is grouping with post offices to offer credit to remotest villages of India.

In terms of earnings, assets, deposits, arms and work force, SBI is the biggest and leading commercial banking institution in India. In Oct. 1996, the bank successfully floated the first GDR issue of any commercial bank in the country and raised USD 369 million, including the greenshoe option.

Shares of the bank ended up Rs 30.95 at Rs 1,550.45. The scrip traded with total volume of 382,712 shares on Monday (20 August).

A few days back, Vijay Kelkar, advisor to the Union Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, posed a question to the bankers. He wanted to know why were banks charging a high interest of 35 per cent per annum to customers when the government was focussed on making loans softer to the borrowers.

More than 10 years back, a handful of banks were issuing credit cards. The number of cards floating in the market too was small. Probably around a million cards were in circulation during the 90's. Now the list is big, both that of issuers and cardholders. It is not just foreign banks and private banks but even a few nationalised banks are in the fray. The entry of nationalised banks like State Bank of India has quickened the pace of growth, feels the industry.

SBI Cards, a joint venture between State Bank of India and GE Money, on Thursday announced its entry into the premium card segment with the launch of the SBI Platinum Card in association with Visa International. The card will offer unique benefits and services aimed at meeting the lifestyle needs of customers.

SBI Cards also announced the launch of the SBI Gold and More Card scheme in association with Master Card Worldwide. This new scheme will offer assured two per cent cash back on any purchase at departmental stores, groceries, restaurants, utility bill payments and waiver of the 2.5 per cent charge on fuel purchase at any petrol pump in any city. The SBI Platinum Card allows the members to experience exclusive bouquet of offers and benefits with no joining and annual fees.

India's largest debit card issuer State Bank Group on Wednesday launched a scheme to reward customers with cash back to increase debit card usage.

Under the scheme, Cash Back Plus Offer, customers using SBI or its Associate Banks' debit cards for making payments of Rs 501 or above will get a cash back of up to 5 per cent, SBI Chief General Manager Narayanan Raja told reporters here.

The maximum amount of cash back per debit card during the offer will be Rs 1,000, he said, adding that those customers who use the card to make payments of Rs 501 or more for 15 or more times during this period will also earn 20 per cent of the cash back as bonus.

The offer is valid from August 1 to October 31. Raja said that every day first two highest spenders will win two return Air Deccan tickets each.

State Bank of India today launched the SBI Gold International Debit Card in partnership with Visa International. This product provides State Bank of India (SBI) cardholders with unmatched benefits and privileges including access to Visa's unique suite of services in India including Visa Money Transfer, Visa Bill Pay and Verified by Visa.

SBI Gold International Debit Cardholders can also avail of exclusive benefits like loyalty points, enhanced limits on overseas transactions and domestic transactions, purchase protection insurance and personal accident protection besides discounts at select merchant establishments. Other attractive features of the card are a permanent cash back facility and cash withdrawal without any service charges at ATMs of banks with whom SBI has bilateral arrangements. SBI has bilateral arrangements with 13 banks. The card also offers daily cash withdrawal of Rs 50,000 from ATMs and daily transaction limit of Rs 200,000 at Point of Sale (POS).

Indian rating agency Crisil, a division of Standard & Poor's (NYSE:MHP) , said its ratings on SBI Cards & Payment Services Pvt Ltds debt programmes reflect the support the company gets from its joint owners, State Bank of India and GE (NYSE:GE) Capital Corp.

The ratings agency reaffirmed its 'AAA' rating on SBI Cards 1.25 bln rupees lower tier II bond programme. It also enhanced its 'P1+' rating on the company's 10 bln rupees short term debt programme to 15 bln rupees.Crisil has a 'AAA' rating on both SBI and GE Capital with a stable outlook.

The ratings agency said the stable outlook reflects its belief that this support, coupled with the company's healthy market position and good resources profile would sustain its credit profile by more than offsetting the challenge of high delinquency levels faced in this asset class.

Agriculture development branch of SBI Sehore has adopted village Pilukhedi. State Bank of India in this 'Apna gaon' has connected cent percent families with the bank under different saving and loan facilities. In this way the bank has ensured cent percent financial inclusion in this village. On this auspices the bank establishment day of this year was held at village Pilukhedi through a unique programme.

The programme was presided over by SBI Chief General Manager Renu Challu of Bhopal division.

DGM Bhopal division, Salil Saran and area manager Sukomal Chakraborty also addressed to the farmers.

SBI cards, India's leading credit card issuer today announced its tie-up with the popular & dynamic travel portalEzeego1, offering its customers a flat 25% cash back for booking their travel on all Indian flights.

This special offer comes with no restrictions on Indian flights and is valid on All Sectors, All Flights & All Timings. Cardholders can book tickets for any date of travel, subject to availability. The offer is valid for domestic sectors flown by Indian and for bookings done before 30th September, 2007 through online booking on www.ezeego1.com or calling 1800220177 or 9867565900.

Your paycheck ensures a more or less predictable amount every month except, of course, for the annual increments and incentive hikes. Barring occasional windfalls you exactly know what money is at your possession every month. This is your actual purchasing power.
A credit card gives you at least twice of your paycheck as a credit limit. If you have ten credit cards, normal by today's standards, your credit limit is twenty times to that of your paycheck. This is a huge amount of money to have instant access to. If you take this as your actual purchasing power then you are in trouble-big, deep and thick. You must remember that this is only a hypothetical situation depending on your credit rating or credit worthiness. In effect, this is an illusory power that you could never afford to exercise fully.