Banking: Manju Srivatsa

'Asba for IPOs'

Recently, I received a mailer from my bank about investing in an upcoming initial public offer (IPO) through the applications supported by blocked amount (Asba) route. How is subscribing through Asba different from the traditional route? Will it be difficult to withdraw my bid if I go through this route?
In the traditional route, the amount invested towards an IPO is debited at the time of application for subscription. The entire amount remains debited till the actual share allocation. Or else, the customer is refunded the investment amount. However, in case of Asba, the amount invested towards an IPO is not debited, but a lien or a block is marked on the amount in your account. After the allocation of shares, only the amount pertaining to the value of shares allotted is debited from your account and the lien or block on the rest of the amount is lifted.

Hence, investors gain interest for that period, as the amount stays in their bank account. Moreover, there are no issues of refunding. The withdrawal of bid is a simple process and can be done through internet banking, if the service is offered by the bank.

My husband and I will be visiting our son in Australia and will be staying there for 20 days. My daughter, who is staying back, has an add-on credit card to manage expenses in our absence. Can the bank temporarily halve the credit limit of just the add-on card? My current limit is Rs 50,000.
Most banks offer the facility of restricting spending limit of the add-on card, either permanently or temporarily. The customer needs to inform the bank in advance and take the confirmation for the same.

My wife and I plan to rent an apartment. My landlord is insisting on post-dated cheques (PDCs) to cover the rent for the entire tenure of the contract (11 months). Is there any limit to the PDCs we can issue? Do we need to inform the bank?
There is no limit to the number of PDCs one can issue. Also, there is no need to inform the issuing (your) bank.

The writer is president, retail banking, Axis Bank