Readers' Corner: Jairam Sridharan

I want to buy a second-hand car. Will I get a loan for it?

Yes, you can avail a car loan on a used car. A large number of financial institutions, including banks and non-banking financial companies extend loans for the purchase of used cars. The rate of interest charged on the used car loan is usually higher than that of a new car loan. The age and condition of the car plays an important role in determining the loan amount and tenure.

Although I have a salaried job, it's on contract. This is the company policy. The contract was renewed after the first three years for another three years. However, when I applied for a home loan, the bank rejected it, saying since I am a consultant, my salary will not be regular. Is the bank right in rejecting my application?

Home loan is a long-term commitment for the borrower. So, banks will want to ensure the cash flow of the applicant has visibility over a time period equal to the loan tenure. In this regard, a contractual job might be perceived as temporary in nature with non-predictable/uncertain cash flows after the contractual period. Thus, the bank is within its right on not committing on the loan according to its internal policies.

However, to cater to the home loan requirement of applicants with contractual jobs, some banks treat them as customers with a permanent job, depending on various factors such as the length of the contract period, renewability, the company's reputation, etc.

I work in Mumbai but my salary account is in Bengaluru, where my company's headquarters is located. While I do all my transactions online, I have seen that account statements and cheque books take time to reach me. Can I get the account changed to a Mumbai branch? Will there be any charges for this?

Most private sector banks offer customers the facility of transferring their accounts between branches without any charge. Such requests can be placed through channels such as bank branches, internet banking or phone banking.

You can register for e-statements that are delivered monthly to your email inbox and place cheque book requests through SMS banking, mobile banking app, internet banking or ATMs for quicker delivery.

Jairam Sridharan
President, Axis Bank

The views expressed are the expert's own. Send your queries to yourmoney@bsmail.in