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The complainant approached the bank for an educational loan for his daughter to pursue a one-year, full-time ‘Advanced Certificate Course in Clinical Trial Management', a post-graduate level programme in a State Government-run University, and offered himself as a co-obligant.
The bank rejected the loan application stating that the said course did not come under the approved list of the bank for considering educational loan. According to the bank, certificate courses were not covered under its student loan scheme.
The complainant went in appeal before the Appellate Authority (AA). It was observed that the revised model educational loan scheme framed by the IBA provided an indicative list to all banks of all eligible courses for granting educational loans, further advising that each bank is free to extend loan to any course not covered in the RBI/IBA list, with the avowed objective being that no eligible student should be deprived of higher education for want of finances.
In the instant case, the AA observed that the appellant wanted to pursue a full-time, twelve-month programme run by a prestigious University with assured placement and, as such, cannot be treated as a routine certificate course of short duration.
Going by the spirit of the GOI /RBI/IBA policy, even routine certificate courses are eligible for grant of educational loan, if the application is otherwise in order. The AA directed the bank to grant the educational loan, treating the appellant as a co-obligant under the usual terms and conditions governing such loans.
Loan against fixed deposit receipt not in the name of the borrower: The complainant had a fixed deposit (FD) with the bank. He did not receive the FD receipt for some time. Later on, he found that against his term deposit receipt, the bank had sanctioned loan to another person. At the instance of banking ombudsman, the bank conducted an enquiry and the loan account against the fixed deposit was closed. The FD receipt was handed over to the complainant. The bank was advised to properly investigate into the matter and fix staff responsibility/accountability.
(Source: Annual report of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme.)
This is the tenth in the series on redressal of customer grievances by the Banking Ombudsman being carried in these columns.
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