The Hindu Business Line : Citibank launches credit education initiatives

Speaking about the need for such initiatives, Mr Sarvesh Sarup, Country Business Manager (Global Consumer Group), Citigroup India, said that consumer debt was now four per cent of the country's GDP. "A lot of credit in India is chasing young and not fully informed customers."

Citigroup plans to spend $300 million in the next five years worldwide in educating consumers about credit, Mr Sarup said.

Mr T.R. Ramachandran, Business Manager (Cards), said the first 15-20 years that credit cards were introduced in India saw the card population grew from zero to two million.

However, in the 2-3 years, it has grown to over 10 million.

Speaking about the benefits of a good credit record, Mr Ramachandran said: "Citibank also offers dynamic interest rate, where 22-23 per cent of our customers enjoy 50 per cent less rate than a new customer."

About the high rate of defaults in credit cards, Mr Sarup said, "The lack of a credit bureau and sharing of credit information by banks is solely responsible for the high defaults."

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