Credit

Summary Of Financials Of Selected Housing Finance Companies

The National Housing Bank (NHB) was established on 9th July 1988 under an Act of the Parliament viz. he National Housing Bank Act, 1987 to function as a principal agency to promote Housing Finance Institutions and to provide financial and other support to such institutions. The Act, inter alia, empowers NHB to:

• Issue directions to housing finance institutions to ensure their growth on sound lines
• Make loans and advances and render any other form of financial assistance to scheduled banks and housing finance institutions or to any authority established by or under any Central, State or Provincial Act and engaged in slum improvement and Formulate schemes for the purpose of mobilisation of resources and extension of credit for housing

Objectives NHB has been established to achieve, inter alia, the following objectives:

• To promote a sound, healthy, viable and cost effective housing finance system to cater to all segments of the population and to integrate the housing finance system with the overall financial system.
• To promote a network of dedicated housing finance institutions to adequately serve various regions and different income groups.
• To augment resources for the sector and channelise them for housing.
• To make housing credit more affordable.
• To regulate the activities of housing finance companies based on regulatory and supervisory authority derived under the Act.
• To encourage augmentation of supply of buildable land and also building materials for housing and to upgrade the housing stock in the country.
• To encourage public agencies to emerge as facilitators and suppliers of serviced land, for housing.

Business Activities

NHB, as the Apex level financial institution for the housing sector in the country, performs the following roles: ? Regulation and Supervision NHB exercises regulatory and supervisory authority over the HFCs in the matter of acceptance of deposits by them pursuant to the powers vested in it under the Act. As per the amendments to certain provisions of the Act, which came into effect from June 12, 2000, NHB is vested with powers to grant Certificate of Registration to companies for commencing/carrying on the business of a housing finance institution.

Besides, NHB regulates the deposit acceptance activities in accordance with the Housing Finance Companies (NHB) Directions, 2001, amended from time to time, in the matter of ceiling on borrowings (including public deposits, rate of interest, period, liquid assets, etc). NHB has also issued Directions on prudential norms in regard to capital adequacy, asset classification, concentration of credit, income recognition, provisioning for bad and doubtful debts etc. NHB supervises the working of HFCs through on-site inspection and off-site surveillance. ? Financing

NHB raises resources for the housing sector towards increasing new housing stock and provides refinance to a large set of retail lending institutions. These include scheduled commercial banks, scheduled state cooperative banks, scheduled urban cooperative banks, specialised housing finance institutions, apex co-operative housing finance societies and agriculture and rural development banks. Refinance is provided by NHB under various schemes, which are formulated taking into account, several aspects of the National Housing Policy, the constraints facing the sector etc.

NHB has also a window for direct lending to Public Agencies such as, State Level Housing Boards and Area Development Authorities for large scale integrated housing projects and slum redevelopment projects. NHB is also operating a special window for extending financial assistance to the people affected by natural calamities viz. earthquake, cyclone etc. Resources of NHB NHB raises resources from diversified sources, both domestic and external by issuing Bonds/ debentures, borrowing from RBI and financial institutions/organisations etc.

Under the Act, NHB is authorised to issue and sell Bonds with or without the guarantee of the Central Government for the purpose of carrying on its functions. Rural Housing NHB launched the “Swarna Jayanti Rural Housing Finance Scheme” to mark the golden jubilee of India’s Independence. The Scheme seeks to provide improved access to housing loans to borrowers for construction/acquisition/ up-gradation of a house in rural areas of the country.

Why housing finance is important? Perhaps few things are more developmental than housing. Given its linkages to many sectors in the economy – including land markets, construction, and labour markets – housing finance is key to economic growth. It has been estimated that there are roughly 600 other industries that have links to the housing markets.

A stimulus to the demand for housing will have a direct or indirect stimulatory impact on all of these industries. The availability of mortgage financing also stimulates the construction of new housing units. House construction and related industries are labour-intensive and thus provide significant employment opportunities; thus, a greater demand for housing provides a very large economic stimulus to the broader economy. There are also numerous other societal and Developmental benefits to providing decent living space to the poorer segments of society, which are our principal target markets.

Productivity and employment are very often enhanced by providing a living space close to where people work.

Importance Of Housing Sector In India

Income Generation It is estimated that the construction sector’s income multiplier is around 5, while construction related manufacturing has an income multiplier of 7. 6. ? Employment Generation Today, there are 2. 5 cr. construction workers in the country. In terms of direct, indirect and induced employment generation, the construction sector’s employment multiplier is 7. 76. ? Revenue Accruals to Government

An investment of Rs. 100 generates Rs. 11. 4 as revenue to the Government in the form of sales, excise taxes and octroi. ? A basic human necessity supporting economic activities. ? Have forward and backward linkages with over 250 ancillary industries. ? Every Rupee spent on construction, an estimated 75-80 paise is added to GDP. ? Housing Industry Growth in last 5 years – Physical Terms 3. 0 % p. a. Financial Terms 30% p. a. ? Contribution of Housing in GDP is about 6%. ? Percentage of Mortgage Debt to GDP is 8. 0% (E) in 2005-06, still way below China’s (12%), Malaysia (22%), Hong-Kong (40%) and US (65%). ? An engine of equitable economic growth – Investments, Savings.. Housing and GDP Housing construction contributes approximately 1-2% to India’s GDP as compared to the entire construction sector’s contribution of around 6%, which includes roads, ports, housing, dams and canals etc. The construction industry is the only industry which makes use of all other industries; you need ceramics, pipes, steel, cement, glass, tiles, iron, wood, cloth.

Start construction and you provide employment for hundreds of labourers, you will use transport for transferring materials, so the transportation industry will get a boost, labourer’s income will increase, spending will increase. Over and above, you solve the housing problem. If this is done, the contribution might go up to 10% for the construction sector and around 3-4% for the housing sector. Another way of looking at the huge potential of housing construction sector for the development of economy is through it’s impact on GDP.

A 10% increase in final expenditure in the construction sector increases the GDP by 3%.

Types Of Home Loans

Home Purchase Loans: This is the basic home loan for the purchase of a new home. Home Construction Loans: This loan is available for the construction of a new home on a said property. The documents that are required in such a case are slightly different from the ones you submit for a normal Housing Loan. If you have purchased this plot within a period of one year before you started construction of your house, most HFCs will include the land cost as a component, to value the total cost of the property.

In cases where the period from the date of purchase of land to the date of application has exceeded a year, the land cost will not be included in the total cost of property while calculating eligibility. Home Improvement Loans: These loans are given for implementing repair works and renovations in a home that has already been purchased, for external works like structural repairs, waterproofing or internal work like tiling and flooring, plumbing, electrical work, painting, etc. One can avail of such a loan facility of a home improvement loan, after obtaining the requisite approvals from the relevant building authority.

Home Extension Loans: An extension loan is one which helps you to meet the expenses of any alteration to the existing building like extension/ modification of an existing home; for example addition of an extra room etc. One can avail of such a loan facility of a home extension loan, after obtaining the requisite approvals from the relevant municipal corporation. Home Conversion Loans: This is available for those who have financed the present home with a home loan and wish to purchase and move to another home for which some extra funds are required.

Through a home conversion loan, the existing loan is transferred to the new home including the extra amount required, eliminating the need for pre-payment of the previous loan. Land Purchase Loans: This loan is available for purchase of land for both home construction or investment purposes Stamp Duty Loans: This loan is sanctioned to pay the stamp duty amount that needs to be paid on the purchase of property. Bridge Loans: Bridge Loans are designed for people who wish to sell the existing home and purchase another. The bridge loan helps finance the new home, until a buyer s found for the old home. Balance-Transfer Loans: Balance Transfer is the transfer of the balance of an existing home loan that you availed at a higher rate of interest (ROI) to either the same HFC or another HFC at the current ROI a lower rate of interest. Re-finance Loans: Refinance loans are taken in case when a loan for your house from a HFI at a particular ROI you have taken drops over the years and you stand to lose. In such cases you may opt to swap your loan. This could be done from either the same HFI or another HFI at the current rates of interest, which is lower.

NRI Home Loans: This is tailored for the requirements of Non-Resident Indians who wish to build or buy a home or property in India. The HFCs offer attractive housing finance plans for NRI investors with suitable repayment options.

Housing Finance Companies In India

I. Bob Housing Finance

BOB Housing Finance Limited was set up in December, 1990 by Bank of Baroda in association with National Housing Bank. The company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda since March 31, 2006. Purpose For purchase of land /site from Govt. statutory bodies such as housing boards, Development Authorities/CIDCO etc. Amount (Least of the following subjects to minimum of Rs. 50,000/-) 85% of the cost/purchase price of the land. Rs. 100 lacs. 42 months gross salary or 3 1/2 times of average annual income as per income tax returns last 3 years of which ever is less.  Installment to commence from the next month, from the month in which loan is fully disbursed or expiry of 1 1/2 year from the date of first disbursals whichever is earlier. Pending EMI, Pre-EMI interest is to be paid on monthly basis on loan disbursed. Security

• Equitable mortgage of the plot of land to be purchased.
• Personal guarantee of one individual.

II. Can Fin Homes

Can Fin Homes Limited was set up in 1987, the “International Year for Shelter for the Homeless,” by Canara Bank in association with reputed financial institutions including HDFC and UTI. The first bank sponsored Housing Finance Company in India; Can Fin Homes has emerged as one of the leading players in the country’s home loan segment.

Canara Bank offers home loans for construction/purchase of house/flat and also for renovation of existing flat/house. The bank offers a maximum loan of Rs. 1,00,00,000/- depending on the borrower’s repayment capacity. The loan repayment period is 5 – 10 years for site loans and 5 – 20 years for other loans. Canara Bank home loans are offered for purchase or construction of any residential house or flat. The bank also provides finance for companies or corporations or Societies for purposes of construction or purchase of residential houses or flats.

Canara Bank provides loans to individuals for site purchase where the allotment of site shall be for the residential purpose by State Development Agencies, Municipal Bodies, and Associations. How much amount you get a loan Upto Rs. 1,00,00,000/- depending on your repayment capacity. Repayment capacity will be considered after assessing your income, age, qualifications, work experience, number of dependents, spouse’s income, stability of income and employment, assets, liabilities, etc. You can apply for a loan upto 80% in the case of site loan and 85% of otal project cost for the remaining section depending on your repayment capacity. Your loan repayment will be

• 5 – 10 years for site loans, 5 – 20 years for other loans.
• They are payable in easy, Equated Monthly Installments

III. Lic Housing Finance

LIC Housing Finance Limited is one of the leading players in the home loan segment. Incorporated on June, 19, 1989 and promoted by the Life Insurance Corporation of India, LIC Housing Finance Limited boasts of an extensive distribution network and a massive brand presence by virtue of being one of the earlier entrants in the market for housing loans.

Griha Prakash Loan Amount:

• Min. Rs. 25,000
• Max. Rs. 1,00,00,000. Loan to Property Cost : 85% of total Cost of the property including Stamp Duty and Registration Charges. Loan Term : Upto 20 Years or Retirement Age or 70 years of Age, whichever is earliest.

Repayment Mode : Equated Monthly Installments(EMI) – Monthly Rest Basis Security :

1.  Equitable Mortgage of House/Flat
2.  One Guarantor. Risk Cover: Any existing or new policy under any acceptable plan of insurance (issued by LIC of India) on the lives of the applicants, having risk cover to the extent of loan amount.

Front End Charges: 1. 00% of Loan Sanctioned. Loan for Purchase of Vacant Plots/Sites Loan Amount: Min Rs. 50,000 Max Rs. 20,00,000. Loan to Property Cost: 85% of the Cost of Plot/Site. Loan Term: Upto 15 Years or Retirement Age, or 70 years of Age, whichever is earliest. Repayment Mode: By Equated Monthly Installments (EMI) – Monthly Rest Basis. Security: 1. Equitable Mortgage of Plot/Site 2. One Guarantor. Risk Cover: Life Insurance Cover is not required but advisable in the interest of the applicants. Front End Charges: 1. 0% of Loan Sanctioned.

V. Sbi Home Finance

State Bank of India (SBI), the largest bank in India, is one of the market leaders in the home loan segment. But SBI’s reputation has surely taken a hit following the collapse of the erstwhile SBI Home Finance Limited in which SBI was the largest shareholder along with other institutional promoters like HDFC and LIC. Due to continued losses and complete erosion of its net worth, the company’s certificate of registration had been cancelled by the National Housing Bank.

SBI offers home loans for a variety of purposes: purchase/ construction of new House/ Flat, purchase of an existing House/ Flat, purchase of a plot of land for construction of House and extension/ repair/ renovation/ alteration of an existing House/ Flat. SBI home loans come with some unique features that make them stand out in the competition: no cap on maximum loan amount for purchase/ construction of house/ flat, option to club income of one’s spouse and children to compute eligible loan amount, free personal accident insurance cover and complimentary international ATM-Debit card.

Besides the standard package of home loans, SBI has some customized home loan products in its kitty that address the needs of niche customer segments. ‘SBI-Flexi’ Home Loans are designed to enable borrowers to hedge their Home Loan against unfavorable movement in interest rates and gives the customers a one time irrevocable option to choose one of the three customized combinations of fixed and floating interest rates. ‘SBI-Freedom’ Home Loans are customized for high net worth individuals and offer benefits such as 100 per cent finance of the project and no mortgage f the property, provided the individual could show liquid securities such as LIC policies or NSCs. SBI Housing loan schemes are designed to make it simple for you to make a choice at least as far as financing goes! ‘SBI-Home Loans’ Loan Amount Applicant/ any one of the applicants are aged over 21 years and upto 45 years – 60 times Net Monthly Income (NMI) or 5 times Net Annual Income (NAI), subject to aggregate repayment obligations not exceeding 57. 50% of NMI/ NAI  Applicant(s) aged over 45 years of age- 48 times NMI or 4 times NAI, subject to aggregate repayment obligations not exceeding 50%of NMI/ NAI  VII.

HDFC  [pic] Both in terms of business volume and market standing, HDFC stands head and shoulder above the competition in the home loan segment. With an expertise gathered over 25 years of existence in the business, HDFC has managed to create an impressive loan portfolio that caters to varied housing finance needs. HDFC offers home loans for individuals to purchase (fresh / resale) or construct houses. HDFC finances up to 85% maximum of the cost of the property which is inclusive of agreement value, stamp duty and registration charges.

HDFC lends a maximum amount of Rs 1 crore and the maximum period of repayment is 15 years or retirement age, whichever is earlier. HDFC’s Home Improvement Loan facilitates internal and external repairs and other structural improvements like painting, waterproofing, plumbing and electric works, tiling and flooring, grills and aluminium windows. HDFC finances up to 85% of the cost of renovation (100% for existing customers). HDFC Land Purchase Loan can be used to purchase land. HDFC finances up to 70% of the cost of the land and repayment of the loan can be done over a maximum period of 10 years.

Features: Maximum loan 85% of the cost of the property (including the cost of the land) and based on the  repayment capacity of the customer. Maximum Term 20 years subject to your retirement age. Adjustable Rate Home Loan Loan under Adjustable Rate is linked to HDFC’s Retail Prime Lending Rate (RPLR). The rate on your loan will be revised every three months from the date of first disbursement, if there is a change in RPLR, the interest rate on your loan may change. However, the EMI on the home loan disbursed will not change*.

If the interest rate increases, the interest component in an EMI will increase and the principal component will reduce resulting in an extension of term of the loan, and vice versa when the interest rate decreases. Fees 1% of the loan amount applied plus applicable service taxes and cess. No Charges for   Part or Full Prepayment of loan under Adjustable Rate (except in case of prepayment through a refinance from other bank or institutions prepayment charges will be applicable)   Fixed Rate – Part prepayment upto 25% of opening loan outstanding in a financial year   Replacement of cheques

Income Tax Certificates Accelerated Repayment Option

VIII. ICICI

ICICI Bank offers home loans for purchase or construction of house and the loan amount can be up to 85% of the cost of the property. The loan must terminate before or when the borrower turns 65 years of age or before retirement, whichever is earlier. ICICI home loans come with benefits like easy interest rates, simplified documentation, doorstep service and free personal accident insurance. ICICI MaxMoney Home Loans offer the unique advantage of higher loan eligibility with a lower initial installment.

One can get up to 30% higher amount against one’s current income and the installment amount gets stepped up over the years. ICICI SmartFix Home Loans combine the safety of fixed rates plus the advantages of floating rates. For the first 3 years the borrower gets a fixed interest rate and the fourth year onwards, the loan gets switched to the prevailing floating interest rate. Home Improvement Loans

• You can get a loan for renovation /refurbishment of your home.
• Get the same interest rate as applicable on Home Loans
• Avail of loan upto Rs. 50 Lakhs Avail of loan upto 70% of cost of improvement
• Enjoy repayment period of upto 15 years.

IX. Sundaram Finance Group

The south-based Sundaram Home Finance Limited was launched on July 2, 1999, by Sundaram Finance Limited with equity participation from International Finance Corporation (IFC), Washington and FMO, Netherlands. After consolidating its business in the south, Sundaram Home Finance has made forays in the Northern states as well. Sundaram home loans are offered for purchase or construction of any residential house or flat.

The house/flat can be purchased from a builder or from a Statutory Authority. The maximum loan amount can be Rs. 1 crore or 85% of the agreement value, whichever is less. The tenure of the home loan can be 20 years or retirement age, whichever is earlier. Sundaram provides Home Improvement Loans to individuals for carrying out internal and external repairs to an existing home. The maximum loan amount can be Rs. 1 crore or 70% of the agreement value, whichever is less. The term of the home loan can be 10 years or retirement age, whichever is earlier.

Sundaram Land Loans facilitate purchasing of land for construction of residential units. The maximum loan amount can be Rs. 1 crore or 50% of the agreement value, whichever is less. The tenure of the land loan can be 15 years or retirement age, whichever is earlier. Sundaram also provides loans against existing residential properties. The maximum loan amount can be Rs. 25 lakhs or 50% of the value whichever is less. The maximum term of repayment for salaried professionals is 10 years or retirement age whichever is earlier.

HUDCO was instituted with the objective of providing long-term finance for construction of houses, undertaking urban development programmes and infrastructure facilities. HUDCO stands out in the burgeoning housing finance industry for its focus on the social aspect of housing and utility infrastructure provision. In spite of its commercial orientation, HUDCO has adopted a policy of preferential allocation of resources to the socially disadvantaged. It continues to emphasize on sectors which are more socially relevant rather than only on commercially viable and profitable sectors.

HUDCO has played a stellar role in the implementation of National Housing Policy. It has been entrusted with the implementation of the priority programmes of the Ministry like Low Cost Sanitation, Night Shelter for Footpath Dwellers, Shelter Upgradation under Nehru Rozgar Yojana, Rural housing under Minimum Needs Programme. Although commercial banks and housing finance companies are doing brisk business in the swelling housing finance sector, the housing needs of the poor and low income groups have remained unaddressed. In such a scenario, HUDCO’s role has become even more significant.

HUDCO’s social orientation of is evident from the fact that about 92 percent of the 150. 93 lakh houses financed by HUDCO are for the benefit of Economically Weaker sections and Low Income categories. In the face of growing competition, HUDCO has adopted innovation in its lending operations. HUDCO Niwas, which was launched in 1999, is an extremely popular housing loan scheme. Under HUDCO Niwas, individual housing loans are given directly to the borrowers instead of the established practice of disbursing loans through the state governments and their housing agencies.

Moreover, HUDCO has moved the government seeking permission to enter the banking and insurance sectors. Property: Housing Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) offers Niwas scheme. The scheme is a housing finance instrument for individual families which offers loan assistance to individuals constructing or buying a house or a flat. Similar loan assistance is also extended to extend or improve an existing house or flat. Amount:  The maximum loan amount will not exceed 85 per cent of the total cost of the housing unit, including incidental costs like stamp duty and registration. The maximum loan amount granted by HUDCO is Rs 15 lakh. Payment Term:  It is normally up to 15 years, but the period will not extend beyond the age of 65 years of applicant. However, HUDCO Niwas will endeavor to determine the repayment period to suit the convenience of the applicant. In case the applicant wishes to extend the period of repayment beyond 15 years, it can be extended up to 20 years. However, in such cases, additional interest of 1 per cent per annum will be charged over and above the regular rates.

On receiving a loan application, financial institutions carry out the credit appraisal of the applicant/s. Credit appraisal is the step that decides the loan amount an applicant is eligible for. The objective of credit appraisal is to determine the ability and willingness of an applicant/s to repay a loan. A set of financial and non-financial techniques is used to meet this objective. Different financial institutions have different methods and norms of credit appraisal and for calculating the loan eligibility.

Usually the ability to repay is determined by analyzing information like present income, consistency of income, experience, profession, additional sources of income, assets, liabilities, amount of installments of other loans (if any), past loan repayment history, investments, educational qualification, age, number of dependents etc. The financial ratios considered during the process of credit appraisal to determine the amount of loan an applicant is eligible for include; A. Installment to Income Ratio (IIR) Expressed as percentage, this ratio is calculated as

IIR = (Home loan installment amount / Monthly income) * 100 Installment to Income ratio (IIR) denotes the portion of monthly income that can be spent towards home loan repayment. It is believed that about 35% to 40% of monthly income can be comfortably allocated towards home loan repayment. Based on this broad assumption, an IIR of 35% to 40% is considered to arrive at eligible loan amount. For example, at 40% IIR, an applicant having monthly income of Rs. 40,000 can repay Rs. 16,000 as home loan installment.

As mentioned, an IIR of 40% is a broad assumption and can be higher or lower based on other parameters like consistency of income, experience, profession, additional sources of income, assets, liabilities, past loan repayment history, investments, educational qualification, age, number of dependents, age of dependents etc. In case of an earning co-applicant, co-applicant’s monthly income can be clubbed with applicant’s monthly income to increase the loan eligibility. With your monthly income known, you can calculate your approximate home loan eligibility as explained in the example below; Monthly income:Rs40000

IRR:40% Desired Loan Tenure :20 Interest Rate :10% STEP1: AFFORDABLE LOAN INSTALLMENT=(40000*40%) = Rs. 16,000 STEP2: Determine installment amount per lack of loan for desired loan tenure. In this example, installment for a loan of Rs. 1,00,000 for 20 years at an interest rate of 10% is Rs. 965 STEP3: Eligible Loan Amount = (Affordable loan installment / installment per lack) * 1,00,000 In this example Eligible loan amount=(Rs 16000/Rs. 965)*100000=Rs. 16,58,030 B. Fixed Obligation to Income Ratio (FOIR) Expressed as percentage, this ratio is calculated as FOIR = (Home loan installment amount + other loans installments) / Monthly income)} * 100 Fixed Obligation to Income Ratio (FOIR) is calculated to determine the portion of monthly income that can be spent towards home loan installment after considering other fixed obligations like car loan, consumer durable loan, deduction towards salary advance recovery etc. Statutory deductions such as provident fund, professional tax, investments, insurance premium are excluded from the fixed obligation component. For example, for an applicant having a monthly income of Rs. 40,000 and a car loan installment of Rs. 4,000, at 40% FOIR, can repay Rs. 2,000 towards home loan installment {(Rs. 40,000*40%) – Rs. 4,000 }. Some of the financial institutions do not consider loans outstanding with maturity less than one year as fixed obligation and installment paid towards these short terms loans is excluded from the FOIR calculation. This means, your loan eligibility can be higher despite of short term fixed obligations. It is worth checking the institution’s policy on fixed obligations before finalizing the lender. With your monthly income and other fixed obligations known, you can calculate your approximate home loan eligibility as explained in the example below; Monthly Income :Rs 40000

Car Loan Installment :Rs 4000 FOIR% :40% Desired Loan Tenure :20 years Interest Rate :10% STEP 1: Affordable Loan Installments = (Rs. 40,000 * 40%) – Rs. 4,000 (OF ALL OUTSTANDING LOANS)=12000 STEP2: Determine installment amount per lack of loan for desired loan tenure. In this example, installment for a loan of Rs. 1,00,000 for 20 years at an interest rate of 10% is Rs. 965 STEP3: Eligible Loan Amount = (Affordable loan installment / installment per lack) * 1,00,000 In this example Eligible loan amount=(Rs 12000/Rs 965)* Rs 100,000 = Rs12,43,000 C.

Loan to value ratio (LTV) Expressed as percentage, this ration is calculated as LTV = (loan amount / property value) * 100 Loan to value (LTV) denotes the portion of value of the property that is financed by a financial institution. Each financial institution has a cap on maximum loan amount that can be extended towards financing a property. Most of the financial institutions offer loan upto 85% of the property value. The LTV offered by a financial institution may differ in certain cases. For example, LTV may be different for an approved project from an unapproved project.

Instances where loan amount computed based on income (IIR/FOIR) is different from the loan amount computed based on property value (LTV), the lower of the two is considered as the eligible loan amount. SOME IMPORTANT POINTS TO BE MENTIONED: 1. Income of salaried class people includes :income of the applicant +income of the co-aplplicants(max2)+rental income(generally 50%) 2. Income of a self employed: It is determined by the INCOME TAX RETURN of the applicant +depreciation(generally100%) 3. The IRR and FOIR can be 100% only in certain exceptional cases. 4.

Another important point to note is that as the tenure of the loan decreases the loan he loan he is eligible for also decreases. Will the Installment to Income Ratio (IIR) AND Fixed Obligation to Income Ratio (FOIR) always remain the same? No, it will not always remain the same. As the income increases both IRR and FOIR also increases but it generally remains in the limits of 40% to 70%. Reverse Mortgage Loan Many senior citizens, retired from work worry about the dwindling amount in their bank accounts? Wondering how to maintain a steady cash flow to meet their daily needs?

An option often thought of to deal with this problem, is to rent the existing house which seems a liability and move to a smaller house or to sell the house altogether and invest the proceeds to earn a higher monthly income. Why not turn that liability into an asset? The answer – Reverse Mortgage. Reverse mortgage is a financial product that enables senior citizens (60 +) who own a house to mortgage their property with a lender and convert part of the home equity into tax-free income without having to sell the house.

Instead of you making monthly payments to a lender, as with a regular loan, the lender makes payments to you. Multiple options are available for repayment of the loan in lumpsum at the end of the loan term. Maximum period of loan is of twenty years. The loan is not required to be serviced as long as the borrower is alive and in occupation of the property. On the borrower’s death, the loan is repaid through sale of property. About 350 crore worth of Reverse Mortgage has been sanctioned. The National Housing Bank has received innumerable calls of inquiry from senior citizens wanting to know more.

It is to tackle this influx of calls and give each senior citizen attention as per his/her needs, that information and counseling centres will be functional throughout the nation, at various HelpAge offices in 10 cities of India: Delhi, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Bhopal with especially trained staff. Qualifications for reverse mortgage eligibility ? Should be a Senior Citizen of India above 60 Years of age. ? Married Couples will be eligible as joint borrowers provided one of them being above 60 years of age and other not below 55 years of age.

Benefits of a reverse mortgage: ? It aims at partially meeting the financial needs of senior citizens without selling the property and enables recurring funds inflows to the senior citizens during their life time. ? After the death of the senior citizen, the surviving spouse can continue to occupy the property till his/her demise ? It can also be an investment tool for youngsters who plan for a retirement solution. They can start investing in a housing property and take benefit of the same during their retirement life. They have a secured investment which has benefit of capital appreciation.

In India, the Reverse Mortgage concept faces a few challenges: ? Indian culture dictates that property is bequeathed to heirs and housing property is a sign of social legacy. Indians have to work out of this mindset to adopt this novel concept. ? Also, on the legal front, handling the title transfer, possession of house, other regulation etc can be tricky. ? Last but not the least income tax treatment for money received from the HFC is also an open issue, since the loan disbursements cannot be considered as the income for senior citizens.

Reportedly National Housing Board is working on the resolution of these issues and Reverse Mortgage will be introduced in a full fledged manner in India very soon. . HOUSING FINANCE-SCOPE IN INDIA [pic] Macroeconomic Background On the back of economic reforms undertaken in 1991, India has grown at an average rate of over 5% through the nineties peaking at about 8% in FY04. It is currently the fourth largest (in PPP terms) economy in the world with GDP output at USD 554 billion. India’s services led-growth strategy is well documented and is a departure from the rest of Asia’s manufacturing-led model for growth.

Both domestic and global demand for India’s services remains robust with globally competitive firms emerging from the country’s historically protected private sector. With still much scope for reform, India’s healthy progress in liberalization, private sector-led development, and newly established political support (irrespective of the ruling party) for economic and structural reforms suggest that India could well be setting up the necessary conditions to support the type of long-term growth path over the next 2-3 decades. Inflation through the nineties has hovered between 7% and 13%.

Demographics The population of India is over 1 billion and accounts for one sixth of the entire world’s population. The population is second only to China with one quarter of the world’s youth living in India. 54% of the Indian population is below the age of 25. In 2001 the productive population (age 25-44) was 278 million which, by 2013, will grow to 369 million; a growth of 33%. This explosive growth will result in higher demand for housing loans in the foreseeable future. According to the 2001 Census of India the total number of households in India is 191 million, up from 147 million in 1991.

Much in line with world trends of falling household size, in India, the average household size has fallen from 5. 71 in 1991 to 5. 34 in 2001. This trend is expected to continue as individuals migrate to urban centres in search of work, coupled with movement away from the joint family system to single family households that is further accelerating lower household sizes. The following graphs interpret the emergence and bubble of housing finance in the country. [pic][pic] series1=housing finance series2=consumer durables series3=credit cards eries4=other personal loans Housing Finance The value of total residential mortgage debt moved up from USD 1. 84 billion in 1994 to USD 12. 26 billion in 2004; a CAGR of 21%. The housing finance market has recorded robust growth in the last 5 years, clocking an annual growth rate of about 40% between FY99 and FY04. Residential mortgage debt as a percentage of GDP was a mere 0. 58% in 1994 which has moved up to 2. 21% in FY04, still miniscule when compared to about 45% in the EU, 70% in the US and upwards of 30% in East Asian economies.

Interest rates on housing loans have fallen from a peak of 17% in 1996 to 7. 5% last fiscal making owning a home more affordable. This combined with increasing loan tenures, increasing loan-to-value ratio and a rise in the installment-to-income ratio are precipitating high growth rates in the housing finance market. The organized lenders in the housing finance industry, comprising 30% of housing units constructed, are currently concentrated in the urban markets, with a greater presence in the major metros and Tier 1 cities.

They are however, moving to the Tier 2 cities and smaller towns but are yet to venture into the rural markets. Also, salaried borrowers constitute the bulk of the clientele for the financier in comparison to the self-employed borrowers, who constitute a miniscule proportion. As a segment, the self-employed category is much bigger than the salaried segment, but the organized lenders have, historically, been concentrating on the salaried borrowers due to the lower risks associated with them. Traditionally housing finance was dominated by a handful of private sector institutions.

These Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) commanded 70% market share in FY99, which has subsequently fallen to 50% In FY04 as a direct result of policy changes that permitted the entry of banks into this industry. Banks now control 40% of this market and continue to show explosive growth on account of government policy that categorizes this lending under priority sector lending and the low NPA levels experienced in this industry Shortage of Housing Official and updated statistics on the shortage of housing units in the entire country is not readily available.

According to the National Buildings Organisation (NBO), the components of housing shortage include (a) the excess of households over houses, including homeless households, (b) congestion i. e. the number of married couples requiring a separate room, (c) replacement or upgradation of unserviceable houses and (d) obsolescence/replacement of old houses. The last official estimate on the shortage of housing units was from the NBO which estimated a total shortfall of 19. 4 million units comprising 6. 6 million units in urban areas and 12. 8 million units in rural areas.

Further, over 90 percent of this shortage is for the poor and low-income category (Ministry of Urban Affairs, 1998). This, shortage however, is based on the 1991 Census figures and thus is outdated. The unofficial estimate of the housing shortage is currently pegged at over 40 million dwelling units. Despite the absence of reliable statistical information, the growing population and increasing urbanisation has resulted in rising pressure on the available housing stock. As per the Planning Commission estimates, the total requirement of urban housing during the tenth five year plan, covering the period 2002-2007, is 22. 4 million dwelling units in urban areas. This comprises two components – an urban housing backlog of 8. 89 million dwelling units estimated at the beginning of 2002 and an addition of 13. 55 million new dwelling units. As per the Census 2001, housing completions (defined as the absolute increase in housing stock during a particular period) is around 5 houses units per 1,000 population per annum in India. The average annual housing completion in urban areas per 1,000 population was steady at around 7 housing units during the past three decades.

This however, is lower than the minimum threshold as recommended by the United Nations of 8 to 10 housing units per 1000 population for developing countries (NHB Trend and Progress Report, 2004). Table 1. 2: Addition of Census Houses per 1,000 Population |1971-81 |1981-91 |1991-01 | |Urban | |Added Census Houses (million) |11. 55 |16. 55 |19. 3 | |Added Households (million) |10. 00 |11. 64 |12. 95 | |Annual Housing Completions/1,000 population |7. 23 |7. 61 |6. 83 | |Rural | |Added Census Houses (million) |19. 25 |29. 02 |34. 56 | |Added Households (million) |15. 0 |19. 16 |25. 61 | |Annual Housing Completions/1,000 population |3. 66 |4. 62 |4. 65 | |Total | |Added Census Houses (million) |26. 53 |45. 58 |54. 08 | |Added Households (million) |25. 50 |30. 80 |38. 6 | |Annual Housing Completions/1,000 population |3. 87 |5. 39 |5. 26 | Source: Census 2001, NHB Trend and Progress Report, 2004 Rapid Urbanisation Housing needs are strongly influenced by growth in population and demographic changes. While in the recent period the total population growth has been slowing down, the urban population continues to grow rapidly. The urban population has increased from 20 percent in 1971 to almost to 34 percent currently (SSKI, 2006).

Urbanisation is particularly concentrated in urban agglomerations or mega cities, defined as cities having a population in excess of one million people. These mega cities account for almost 40 percent of the total urban population. As per the 2001 Census, there were 35 mega cities and the polarisation of growth towards them poses a greater challenge in providing housing in these areas as the housing stock is unable to keep pace with demand (Nallathiga, 2005). This is exacerbated by the continuing trend of in-migration to urban areas.

As a result, there has been a disproportionate rise of slums. For instance in Mumbai, almost 60 percent of the total population live in slums. Restrictive Laws One of the major issues constricting the addition of homes is the series of archaic laws governing the Indian housing and real estate sector. Of the over 100 laws governing various aspects of real estate, many date back to the 19th century. Significant ones are the Indian Contracts Act, 1872, the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 and the Registration Act, 1908.

Despite the plethora of laws, the legal framework requires a complete overhaul to make it more relevant to today’s requirements. These laws often lead to prolonged litigation and create artificial scarcity of land, thereby raising prices. In India, land is a state subject1. Thus, while the centre may make amendments and issue guidelines, the responsibility for implementing it remains optional for a state government. With 28 states and 7 union territories (areas directly managed by the central government), support for reforms has varied considerably from state to state.

ANALYSIS Despite the problems alluded above much development has been made by the country in the field to promote housing finance during the past few decades. With the entrenchment of HDFC in1977, a system of specialized housing finance companies(hfc’s) discussed above, now in hundreds was bought into being. This include 25 large and stable organizations which have been approved as eligible for refinancing from NHB which was formed in 1989. The institution as mentioned earlier is the watchdog for housing finance. It egulates all the HFC’S dealing in housing finance and then sets its rules, regulations and policies binding the same. The recent developments in the field mark the effort made. The recent cut in interest rates for housing finace below 20lac clearly bring up the role played by the agencies today in countering the problem of availability of housing finance. These coups will not only help consumers (middle and lower middle class) find a shelter for themselves but it will also motivate infrastructure companies to invest in building low cost homes for the desired category.

This in turn will lead to increase in the the capital goods, development of infrastructure therefore overall development of society, increase in job opportunities for the labour class (which will earn more=spend more savings = continuous earning and spending=increase in gdp =increase in living standard). ASSESSMENTS AND PROSPECTS The housing finance market in India has undergone unprecedented change in recent times. This evolution has been interesting, especially for developing countries looking to establish or strengthen their primary housing finance markets.

From a time where HDFC established itself as the first retail housing finance company, to the next level where HDFC helped broad-base and develop the market by co-promoting three housing finance companies, GRUH Finance, Can Fin Homes and SBI Home Finance. In effect, HDFC co-promoted its own competition. The third level saw existing players having to actually re-assess the way they did business as the tide of competition rose to an almost unsustainable level with the aggressive entry of banks into the housing finance market.

And finally, the present stage where there are a few dominant players with large scale operations. India today is a good example for developing countries wanting to kick off their primary housing market. The advantage of using the Indian housing finance experience is that housing finance players have been successful despite unfavourable conditions such as not having foreclosure norms for several years, difficulty in accessing long-term funding sources, lack of clear titles, no reliable statistics on housing or consumer data and an acute shortage of housing units.

Rather than waiting for the government and regulators to create a favourable environment to foster a housing finance system, the market developed despite these constraints. Pre-requisites for Well Functioning Housing Finance Systems Listed below are prerequisites for a well functioning housing finance system which are universal requirements for any country: ? Sound macro-economic policies: Low mortgage interest rates triggered by sound macro economic policies are more important in developing mortgage markets than tax incentives and subsidies. ? Keep transaction costs low and mortgage registration systems efficient. Concentrate on getting the “primary market” right, e. g. transparent property rights, mortgage and credit registration, efficient mortgage collateral and repossession procedures, before creating a “secondary market” to finance those loans. ? Create transparent markets for lenders through approved valuation methods, house price indices and data on mortgage industry. ? Protect and inform the borrowers, for instance, by helping them compare mortgages products. ? Access to long-term funding sources and other instruments such as covered bonds, mortgage backed securities. Broad Basing the Market Need for an Independent Floating Rate Benchmark

There is a need to explore the creation of an independent benchmark for adjustable rate mortgages which can be adopted by all players, thereby leading to more credibility, especially in the case of upward movements in the benchmark. Better Access to Credit History India has no easily shared method of verifying a client’s credit history or loan record. This has resulted in the housing finance industry witnessing a rising number of fraud incidents in the sector. There have been instances of clients taking out multiple mortgages on the same property from different lenders or providing fake documents for the site that do not exist.

To enable access to better credit history for customers and preventing malpractices, some important steps have been initiated in the recent period. In 2005, citing increasing cases of fraud in the system, the National Housing Bank has set up a ‘Fraud Management Cell’ to collect information from housing finance companies on frauds committed. The National Housing Bank as collected this data and issued circulars detailing causative factors and suggestive remedial action. . Removal of Conflicts of Interest The National Housing Bank’s role as a promoter should be considered as successfully completed.

Serving as both a regulator and equity investor in housing finance companies creates an unnecessary conflict of interest (World Bank, 2004). At the time of inception, the National Housing Bank’s mandate was to promote the housing finance sector. Today this role is not required. Thus, there is no longer any rationale for the National Housing Bank to provide equity investments, thereby creating a conflict of interest as regulator and investor. Besides, in 2005, the National Housing Bank’s investments in housing finance companies was miniscule, accounting for less than one percent of its total assets. FUTURE EXPECTATIONS

High interest rates coupled with soaring property prices have only impacted the affordability of buyers, demand, however continues to persist and will become stronger and more intense in near future. Housing Sector in India to Be On a Growth Spree By 2015 Housing demand is poised to see a growth of around 80 Million for the lower-income and the lower-middle income groups. Housing Sector in India is also likely to generate around 4 Million new jobs within a decade with a whooping investment of US$ 670 Billion. It’s also expected that housing and real estate sector will undergo a revolutionary transformation to grow at around 14% annually.

Presently, the contribution of Indian Housing to the country’s GDP is modest at less than one percent. In 2010 the demand would further grow to a massive volume of around 400 Million Units. This will necessitate a minimum outlay of US$ 890 Billion. There is a shortage of more than nearly 20 Million housing units in India and this is a positive sign of the untapped opportunities for this sector. LIMITATIONS OF HOUSING FINANCE The housing sector in India for several decades faced a number of set-backs, such as an unorganized market, development disparities, a compartmentalized development approach and a deterrent rent control system.

There was not even a concerted attempt to understand the housing problem let alone promote it. Reforms introduced in the sector during the 1990s, however, have overturned the situation to a great extent. The designing of a shelter policy, the organization of the housing finance market, the introduction of fiscal incentives, increased public investment, legal reforms and others initiatives have brought about a number of changes in the housing sector.

Interestingly, these changes have been concerned with both reducing the housing shortage and increasing the number of quality housing stock besides increased access to various other housing amenities like safe drinking water, good sanitation and household electricity. In spite of the high growth rates exhibited by the Indian housing finance industry, this sector too has its share of problems. The survey revealed the following growth constraints: 1) Limited exposure of the industry Housing finance assistance of formal institutions has been limited to the middle income and high-income groups.

Companies have also not been able to penetrate the rural areas. 2) Absence of proper title deeds High down payment requirement and non-availability of title deeds in the absence of land records are some of the reasons responsible for the inability of the companies in reaching out to the vast population living in the rural areas. 3) No access to long-term funds Non-availability of long-term funds with housing finance companies and banks results in an asset liability mismatch. 4) Lack of foreclosure norms Lack of foreclosure norms for housing finance companies, which, if in place, will encourage HFCs to disburse more loans ) Regional Constraints ? Disparity and high rates of Stamp duty across the country on registration leads to the suppression of the value of property/evasion of registration. ? Imposition of stamp duty on equitable mortgages (i. e. on property used as a collateral for taking a home loan), the rate of which varies across states acts as a deterrent factor in availing housing finance as the prime security for these loans is equitable mortgage of the property financed. This form of stamp duty is a cost to the customers and should be done away with or reduced to affordable levels. ) Constraints faced by Housing Finance Companies as against banks ? Banks have access to lower cost of funds compared to HFCs because of the following reasons: • Banks have access to low cost retail funds • Minimum capital adequacy ratio for banks is 10% whereas for HFCs it is 12% ? The Securitisation & Reconstruction of Financial Assets & Enforcement of Security Interest Act 2002 is applicable to banks but not to housing finance companies ANNEXURE I 2009 will be the year of affordable housing 29 Dec 2008, 0342 hrs IST, Mayur Shetty, ET Bureau |[pic] | S Sridhar | |NHB chairman & MD | National Housing Bank (NHB) — a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) — was created two decades ago to regulate and promote housing finance institutions in India. Given the current economic environment, home finance has gained centrestage, with housing construction being the largest employment generator with linkages to 250 ancillary industries. As the apex housing finance institution, NHB has taken several initiatives to promote affordable housing.

In an interview with Mayur Shetty, NHB chairman and managing director S Sridhar speaks on why he expects 2009 to be the year of affordable housing. House prices have crashed in the West. There is an expectation among buyers that prices will decline in India as well. How do you see the situation? The situation in India is quite different from that of the West. In India, the conduct of the monetary policy and regulation over banks and housing finance companies ensured that the housing bubble did not develop. Further, the actual equity component in housing is much higher than in the West.

Thus, housing prices in India have fallen a bit and may fall further, but unlikely to get into a free-fall situation. What needs to be done to reduce housing shortage? I expect 2009 to be the ‘year of affordable houses’, when affordable houses will be available to the middle and lower income groups in sufficient volumes. This will happen mainly through a combination of fall in house prices and reduction in home loan interest rates. The latter has happened. I hope developers reduce prices to stimulate demand and public housing agencies will take up affordable housing in a big scale.

Additional hygiene factors are reduction in transaction cost in home purchases through reduction in stamp duty and registration charges and the availability of risk mitigants such as mortgage guarantee, title insurance, credit guarantee for lower income houses. Where do you see interest rates on home loans? Is the NHB refinance rate likely to come down further? Interest rates are headed southward. Public sector banks (PSU banks) have set the pace. Others, including housing finance companies, are following suit. NHB’s refinance rates have also come down to single digit.

Refinance for rural housing at concessional rate of 8% per annum for seven years has also been provided. Our PLR has been reduced to 10. 75% per annum. NHB has announced a package for the housing sector. At what interest rate will you lend to HFCs? The refinance facility of Rs 4,000 crore extended by RBI to NHB will be on-lent by NHB to housing finance companies with the following major conditions. It will be available at an interest rate of 8%, and will be available only for loans below Rs 20 lakh. The facility is available up to March 31, 2010.

You have launched an index of home prices. How is the index doing? NHB’s RESIDEX, which is India’s first official property index, was launched in July 2007 for five cities — Bengaluru, Bhopal, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai — covering the period 2001-2005. It has since been updated to December 2007. The property index has been well received. It is being expanded to cover 15 cities and up to December 2008 wh

Due to the technological revolution in financial sector, the payments in banking system have undergone a tremendous change. The Number of innovative products for making payment has developed after the prevarication and globalization. Customers have showed their preference over the suffragettes plastic money generally over a period of timeline debarking process. Plastic money is an alternative to the cash or the standard ‘money. Plastic money is referring to the credit cards or the debit cards that we use to make purchases . Various other types of elastically provided by banks in India are ATM cards, Smart cards.

Cushman patella e term plastic money has been used in different settings to describe a wide variety of payment systems and technologies (Basel, 1996) When implementing an plastic money a big effort ha s been made to make an plastic money as close as possible to real, physical I money. Oakmont and Oath (1972) presented the following six properties of an ideal electronic payment system: The security of plastic money does not depend on a special physical conditions. No special hardware is necessary and money can be sent ever the network. Plastic money cannot be copied, modified, or double -spent. Anonymity and non-traceability.

Privacy of user is protected. No-body can deduce the link between user and his payment. The customer may perform operations anonymously. The Protocol for plastic payment between customer a ND merchant can be performed off-line. No direct link to third party (e. G. Bank) is necessary. The plastic money can be transferred to any other u Economics By roman-Gaiting Advantages of Plastic Money There are several advantages of plastic money as seen in the above illustration.

The Advantages

1.  Eliminates the need for carrying huge cash: This eliminates the need for carrying huge load of cash which is risky and inconvenient too.
2. Risk of Loss or Theft minimized: In case of cash there is a high risk of losing cash and a chance of cash getting stolen. However, in case of debit/credit card you can report the matter to the bank and block the card to avoid misuse.
3.  Anytime/Anywhere Access Using cards you have the unique advantage and convenience of using it anywhere in the country or even abroad.
4. Credit Facility: In case of credit card you have the option of buying on credit or paying later. Although the charges are high, it helps you in case of emergencies and contingencies.
5. Online Payments: You can use cards for online payments, fund transfers and various other transactions. These are the key benefits which I can easily remember, but there could be various other good features too that are specific to certain cards.

Disadvantages of Plastic Money

So far Vive been sounding like a nice, pleasant Bank Executive who is convincing you o open an account. Please note a few points before we look at the disadvantages of plastic money Cards/plastic money is not a complete replacement for cash Use of cards can also be risky in some cases Note: I’m not saying that cards are not useful because of these drawbacks. Also read what are the three main types of bank transactions?

The disadvantages are Just to make you aware of any risks, threats, etc so that you can use it carefully. Some of the drawbacks or risk related to cards are Non-Acceptance at Small Retail Outlets Unless you are a person who shops only in supermarkets and hypermarkets you will e forced to use cash Cannot be used for all daily needs You cannot pay your milkman, servant, paper Walla (newspaper guy), etc by card. Read which best classifies the works of African American writers during the Harlem renaissance?

Loss & Misuse

Once a card is lost you have to immediately report it and get the card blocked to avoid misuse. Sometimes when you are not aware that you lost the card. The chances of misuse is higher. Impulsive Purchases Don’t yield to impulsive purchases. Try to see what real benefit or value are you getting from the purchase. If you can’t live without it you can postpone or keep the spending on hold

Internship Report On BANKING BUSINESS ACTIVITIES OF MERCANTILE BANK LIMITED, SATMASJID ROAD BRANCH DHAKA. [pic] Submission Date: 15th November, 2009 Prepared for: Prof. Md. Ashraf Hossain Dean, School Of Business Asian University of Bangladesh Dhanmondi Complex House 36, Road 27 (Old), 16 (New) Dhanmondi R/A, Dhaka-1209 [pic] Prepared By:

JOBYDA JESMIN ID: 200521050 Batch: 24th Section: Finance Program: BBA Dhanmondi Complex Asian University of Bangladesh Letter of Transmittal 15th November, 2009 Prof. Md. Ashraf Hossain Dean, School of Business Asian University of Bangladesh

Subject: Submission of Internship Report. Sir, It’s my great pleasure to submit the Internship report titled “Banking Business Activities of Mercantile Bank Limited” that you have asked me to prepare as a partial fulfillment of my graduation. I have tried my best during three months working period to follow the instruction of you in preparing this report. Throughout the report I tried to demonstrate the available services matter of this branch of Mercantile Bank Limited. Finally, I would like to thank you for your valuable guidance and advice for preparing this report.

I thereby strongly hope and believe that you would be kind enough to accept this report and give me a pleasure to be obliged. Thanking for your time and reviews. Sincerely Yours, JOBYDA JESMIN ID: 200521050 Batch: 24th Section: Finance Program: BBA Dhanmondi Complex Asian University of Bangladesh Acknowledgement First of all I would like to express my deep gratitude to the almighty Allah for preparing this internship report successfully. Internship is the part of the Bachelor of Business Administration (B. B. A. ) program that provides on the job experience for the students.

The students get chance to work closely with the people of the organization and learn about the functions, responsibility and the environment of the organization. The internship program enables a student to develop their analytical skills and scholastic aptitudes and to have a real-life orientation of the academic knowledge. I express my deep gratefulness to Mr. Md. Sadruzzaman, Executive Vice President, for his kind permission to allow me for three months practical orientation in Mercantile Bank. My special gratitude goes to Mr.

Shamim Ahmed, Senior Vice-President & Manager of Mercantile Bank Ltd, Satmasjid Road Branch, for his modern outlook and meticulous supervision to carry out the job perfectly. I am very grateful to Mr. Mamun Hossain, Executive Officer, for helping me a lot. Moreover I am very much thankful to my internship in-charge in various departments and all the officers of Mercantile Bank Ltd of Satmasjid Road Branch for helping me very much although having their busyness. Without their help and friendly cooperation it could be very much difficult for me to complete the report in time.

So again I want to express my gratitude to all of them. Acronyms |MBL |= |Mercantile Bank Ltd. | |AD |= |Authorize Dealer | |PO |= |Pay Order | |A/C |= |Account | |CDS |= |Central Depository System | |DD |= |Demand Draft |ERC |= |Export Registration Certificate | |FDBC |= |Foreign Documentary Bills For Collection | |OBC |= |Outward Bills for collection | |IBC |= |Inward Bills for Collection | |GDP |= |Gross Domestic Product | |TT |= |Telegraphy Transfer | |L/C |= |Letter Of Credit | |BR |= |Bankers Report | |IBCA |= |Inter branch credit advice | |IBDA |= |Inter Branch Debit Advice | |IMF |= |International Monitory Fund | |IRC |= |Import Registration Certificate | |KYC |= |Know Your Customer | |CCI & E |= |Chief Controller Of Import & Export | |LDBP |= |Local Documentary Bills Purchases | |FC |= |Foreign Currency | |TIN |= |Tax Identification Number | |LCAF |= |Letter of Credit Authorization Form | |BTB |= |Back to Back | |FDBC |= |Foreign Document Bill Collection | |SWIFT |= |Society For Worldwide Inter Bank Financial Telecommunication | |FDBP |= |Foreign Documentary Bill Purchased | Executive Summery

This is an internship report based on the internship program took place in Mercantile Bank Ltd, Satmasjid Road Branch, The main objective of this report is to analyze the Banking Business Activities and performance of Mercantile Bank Ltd. I got only three months to gather practical knowledge from this branch, although it was too difficult to gather maximum and proper knowledge within this short range of time. There is a great supportive role of banking system in human society. It plays a vital role for the economic development of a country. Banks are financial-service firms, producing and selling professional management of the public’s funds as well as performing many other roles in the economy. The study was to analyze Banking Business Activities of Mercantile Bank Ltd, Satmasjid Road Branch especially: ? General banking ? Foreign Exchange and remittance Credit & Advance department Firstly, I worked for one month in General Banking. During this period I tried my best to cover most of the basic stuffs. Clearing section was important part to focus on. There were other sections such as Account opening section, Computer section, Cash counter section. Second month I worked in the Loan and Advance sector. And I tried my best to understand what to deal about, what to think about when approaching for any loan proposal. In the final days, I was in Foreign Exchange department. There I was involved in learning the Import LC, Export LC, the operation of back to back LC, Lodgment & settlement of LC, IBP & FBP etc.

Most of all I tried heart & soul to present all that I have learnt & thought to be comprehensive to me. Though a short time I got to be introduced with all the activities of bank but I tried my best to give full of me in the practical orientation in bank as well as in the report writing. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One Introduction Page No. 1. 1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………… ……… 11 1. 2 Background of the Study…………………………………………………………. …….. 12 1. 3 Rational of the Report…………………………………………………………….. ……. 12 1. 4 Objectives of the Report …………………………………………………………………13 1. 5 Methodology ……………………………………………………………………………. 14 1. 6 Scope of the report ………………………………………………………………………. 15 1. 7 Limitations of the Study…………………………………………………………………. 5 Chapter Two Overview of Mercantile Bank Ltd. 2. 1 Banking sector in Bangladesh …………… ………………………………………………17 2. 2 Historical background of MBL …………………………………………………………. 18 2. 3 Vision Mission & objectives of MBL……………………………………………………20 2. 4 Core values………………………………………………………………………………… 21 2. 5 Management aspect of MBL…………………………………………………………….. 22 2. 6 Divisional aspect of MBL……………………………………………………………….. 23 2. 7 Branch Network…………………………………………………………………………… 24 2. 8 Information about the Satmasjid Road Branch……………………………………………. 26 2. 9 Financial Performance of MBL………………………………………………………….. 27 2. 10 Nature of Business………………………………………………………………………28 2. 1 Financial Products and Services of MBL………………………………………………… 29 2. 12 Credit Policy of MBL…………………………………………………………………….. 33 Chapter Three General Banking Activities 3. 1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………. 35 3. 2 Account Opening………………………………………………………………………………………………… 36 3. 3 Different Types of Scheme and Features………………………………………………… 39 3. 4 Cash Department… ………………………………………………………………………45 3. 5 Clearing House…………………………………………………………………………… 46 3. 6 Issuing PO, DD, TT …………………………………………………………………….. 47 3. 7 Dispatch……………………………………………………………………………………… 7 3. 8 Issuing Cheque……………………………………………………………………………………………… 48 3. 9 Closing of an Account……………………………………………………………………49 Chapter Four Foreign Exchange Department 4. 1 Introduction ………….. ………………………………………………………………… 52 4. 3 Letter of Credit (L/C) …………………………………………………………………….. 53 4. 4 Parties to Letter of Credit………………………………………………………………… 54 4. 5 Import Procedures………………………………………………………………………. 57 4. 6 Requirements of an importer to open an L/C ………………………………………… 58 4. 7 Lodgment of Import Document………………………………………………………… 62 4. 8 Export Section……………………………………………………………. ……….. 65 4. Back to Back L/C ……………………………………………………………….. ……….. 66 4. 10 Documents required for opening a Back to back L/C………………………………….. 66 4. 11 Foreign Remittance…………………………………………………………………….. 67 4. 12 Foreign Correspondent Bank……………………………………………………………. 68 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Five Credit DepartmentPage No. 5. 1 Introduction……………………………………………………………… ….. ………… 72 5. 2 Importance of Credit…………………………………………………………….. …….. 73 5. 3 Forms of Advances………………………………………………………………. …… 74 5. 4 Process of loan sanction………………………………………………………………… 75 5. 5 Different types of loan and interest rates………………………………………….. …….. 78 5. 6 Types of Credit Scheme made by the MBL……………………………………… …….. 79 5. Loan categories and their Features……………………………………………….. …….. 83 . 5. 8 Credit Policy of MBL……………………………………………………………………94 5. 9 Credit Risk Management of MBL………………………………………………… ……. 95 5. 10 Credit Risk Grading………………………………………………………………. ……97 5. 11 Mechanism of Credit Distribution of the MBL……………………………………….. 101 5. 12 Necessary Documents for Loan Settlement…………………………………………… 103 5. 13 Credit Recovery of MBL…………………………………………………….. 104 Chapter Six Others Services of MBL 6. 1 Cards of MBL………………………………………………………………………. …108 6. 2 Online Banking……………………………………………………………………… …109 6. 3 SMS Banking services……………………………………………………………….. .. 110 6. 4 SME Service Centre…………………………………………………………………. … 10 6. 5 MBL Brokerage House…………………………………………………………………111 Chapter Seven Conclusion 7. 1 Findings…………………………………………………………………………….. … 113 7. 2 Recommendation……………………………………………………………… … 114 7. 3 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………119 7. 4 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………. … 120 [pic] Chapter: 01 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Introduction 1. 2 Background of the study 1. 3 Rationale of the report: 1. 4Objectives of the Report 1. 5Methodology 1. 6Scope of the report 1. 7Limitations of the study 1. 1: Introduction Internship is a temporary work program in which a student can gain supervised practical experience in a particular professional field.

It is the period of time during which a novice in a field serves in a subordinate capacity and continues to gain experience; the learning period before one becomes an expert. Practical Knowledge is highly needed to match with the theoretical idea and knowledge. Banking industries are the best organization to practice the theoretical knowledge. This sector plays very important role in the economic life of the nation. The health of the economy is closely related to the soundness of its banking system. Although banks create no new wealth but their borrowing, lending and related activities facilitate the process of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of wealth. In this way they become very effective partners in the process of economic development.

Within our country there are government banks, semi government banks, private sector commercial banks of Bangladesh and also it is the second-generation private bank in Bangladesh. It started its important moment when Bangladesh economy was undergoing through massive economy reforms and pursing unilateral and multilateral trade liberalization with the backdrop of the World Bank made international Monitory Fund *IMF* recommendation. This Mercantile Bank Ltd with its 42 Branches in Manipulate location of the country providing the best quality services to the clients and customers. For the duration of my 3 months internship period from 1st July to 8th October , 2009 in Mercantile Bank Ltd.

Those types of experiences I have acquired these are bring together to formulate this report. 1. 2. Background of the study: Banks play an important role in the business sector and promoting industrialization and economic development of a country. Banks provide necessary funds for executing various programs underway in the process of economic development. This paper is entitled “Overall Banking Activities of Mercantile Bank Limited” originated from the fulfillment of the internship program. I have selected this topic to have insight knowledge about the Activities of Mercantile Bank Limited and to get an idea about the various types of deposit, loan which are mostly provided.

This study will also give me a vague idea about the rules and regulations of providing loan, loan recovery and overall lending functions of a commercial bank. After three months of internship period I am supposed to prepare this report revealing findings, knowledge as well as experience gathered during internship period. 1. 3. Rationale of the report: Knowledge and learning become perfect when it is associated with theory and practice. Theoretical knowledge gets its perfection with practical application. As our educational system predominantly text based, inclusion practical orientation program, as an academic component is as exception to the norm.

As the parties, educational institution and the organization substantially benefit from such a program, it seems a “win-win situation”. It establishes contracts and networking contracts. Contracts may help to get a job. That is, students can train and prepare themselves for the job market. A poor country like Bangladesh has an overwhelming number of unemployed educated graduates. As they have no internship experience they have not been able to gain normal professional experience of establish networking system, which is important in getting a job. Recognizing the importance of practical experience, an opportunity is offered by Asian University of Bangladesh for ts potential business graduates to get three months practical experience, which is known is as “Internship Program”. For the competition of this internship program, the author of the study was placed in a bank namely, “Mercantile Bank Limited”. Internship Program brings a student closer to the real life situation and thereby helps to launch a career with some prior experience. 1. 4. Objectives of the Report: ? Broad Objective The study was conducted to make a review and analysis of the activities of MBL which include General banking, Credit Department and Foreign Exchange Sector. This paper attempts to discuss overall activities of MBL prescribed so far by Bangladesh Bank with a view to ensuring financial soundness of the banking sector.

The purpose was also to make recommendations for improving the quality and soundness of those processes for consideration of the bank management. ? Specific Objectives: The specific objectives of this study are as follows: • To present an over view of MBL. • To know about the area of general Banking. • To analysis the Lending procedures maintained by MBL. • To observe principal Lending activities of MBL. • To evaluate Lending performance of MBL. • To know Foreign Exchange operations of MBL. • To recommend suggestions for the successful Banking Operations of MBL. 1. 5. Methodology: For teaming up the data & information collected through primary & secondary sources, I have used both qualitative & quantitative method.

During my study I followed some methodology to find out the fact & feature of the Bank which are given as follows: (A) Area of study: My project is the overall activities of MBL with reference to Saatmasjid Road Branch, Dhaka. In order to carry out the research work, I focused on taking the interviews of the Personnel involved in the different departments, Manager and Senior Level Employees, Business Clients and Account Holders and Particular departmental heads. (B) Sources of data/information: I have collected my information/data from the following sources, which helped me to make this report. The source has divided by two parts. Such as, 01.

Primary source 02. Secondary source Primary sources: Many of the data and information were collected from my practical experience and queries from the executives and from related instruments while doing my internship at MBL. Secondary sources: Secondary data are collected basically from observation & collection from Journals, Brochures, Annual Reports, Paper, Magazines, Publications, Books and others form of publications as well as websites. Different statistical tools like mean, frequency distribution, tabular and graphical presentation are used to analyze data. 1. 6. Scope of the report: In this report I tried to describe overall banking performance.

This report is a descriptive study which tries to focus on the theories and practices of banking activities in the context of the financial institutions in Bangladesh. It will not focus on the comparable practices of other banks. The study has covered a curtail idea on MBL, operational scenario of three departments of Mercantile Bank Limited, Saatmasjid Road Branch. Mentioning that, operations of three departments are closely related to each department’s activity as well. This will eventually refer that how the bank help the customers securing their cash and assets, getting credit facility, repaying loan amount and bank’s regulatory compliance ,lending policy etc. Overall banking system for gathering experience, my scheduled time was divided in various departments, such as: Department |Days | |General Banking |25 | |Clearing |15 | |Investment & Credit |25 | |Foreign Exchange Division |25 | 1. 7. Limitations of the study: In conducting the study, some problems were created which may be termed as limitations of the study. They are as follows: • The study does not cover critical analysis and implementations of comparative study in an intensive manner. • During my internship program up to date information was not published. • Relevant papers and documents were not available sufficiently. The time of this study was very inadequate to obtain depth knowledge in every department. • The bank officials though helpful in every respect do not have much time to explain the internal procedures. • Another limitation of this report is Bank’s policy of not disclosing some data and information for obvious reason, which could be very much useful. • This study completely depended on official records and annual reports. • Sufficient record, publications, facts and figures were not available, these constraints narrowed the scope of accurate analysis. • This report is restricted only to Mercantile Bank Ltd. [pic] Chapter: 02 Overview of Mercantile Bank Ltd. 2. 1. Banking sector in Bangladesh 2. 2.

Historical Background of MBL: 2. 3. Vision, Mission and objectives of the bank: 2. 4. Core values 2. 5. Management aspect of MBL 2. 6. Divisional aspect of MBL: 2. 7. Branch Network 2. 8: Information about the Satmasjid Road Branch. 2. 9:Financial Performance of MBL 2. 10Nature of Business 2. 11. Financial products and services of MBL: 2. 12 Credit Policy of MBL 2. 1. Banking sector in Bangladesh: Banking system occupies an important place in an economy. A banking institution is indispensable in modern society. It plays a liberalization of economics policies in Bangladesh. Certainly banks can be identified by the functions they perform in the economy.

Banks act as financial intermediary by transferring funds from savers to borrowers and in paying for goods and services. In 1971, Bangladesh, was East Pakistan, emerged as an independent country. In immediately nationalized the entire Banks expanding 3 Foreign Banks, six Nationalize Banks were thus formed. In 1983 a new policy was implemented allowing private sector participation in the industrialization. As a part of this process, two national commercial Banks were against denationalization and a number of Private Commercial Banks were allowed to operate. Among these Pubali Bank and Uttara Bank were the first to be decentralized. |Particulars Number of Banks | |Nationalized commercial Bank |04 | |Privatized commercial Bank |30 | |Specialize Bank |05 | |Foreign Bank |10 | |Co- Operative Bank |01 | |Grameen Bank |01 | |Total = |51 | Table 1: Schedule Banks in Bangladesh. 2. 2. Historical Background of MBL: Mercantile Bank Limited emerged as a new commercial bank to provide efficient banking services and to contribute socio-economic development of the country. The Bank commenced its operation on June 2, 1999. The Bank provides a broad range of financial services to its customers and corporate clients. The Board of Directors consists of eminent personalities from the realm of commerce and industries of the country.

Mercantile Bank Ltd (MBL) was incorporated in Bangladesh as a Public Company, Limited by shares under the Companies Act 1994 as on May 20, 1999 and subsequently obtained Banking Operation License from Bangladesh Bank under the Bank Companies Act 1991 and commenced commercial operation on 02 June 1999 to provide efficient banking services and to contribute socio-economic development of the country. The bank has 42 branches and 3 SME service center. It has listed in the Stock Exchanges at Dhaka and Chittagong in 2003 and 2004 respectively. The Founder of MBL is committed to make it a little more different and a bit special qualitatively. This bank has new vision to fulfill and a new goal to achieve. The bank has been manned with talented and experienced personnel equipped with most modern technology so as to make it most efficient to meet the needs of 21st century. The Head Office of the Bank situated at 61, Dilkusha commercial Area, Dhaka.

The Board of Directors consists of eminent personalities from the realm of commerce and industries of the country. The Authorized Capital of the Bank is Tk. 3000 million and the Paid -up Capital is Tk. 1798. 68 million. The Bank provides a broad range of financial services to its customers and corporate clients It has a large asset position comprising of Tk. 55928. 72 million in December 2008. [pic] 2. 3. Vision, Mission and objectives of the bank: Vision Would make finest corporate citizen Mission: Will become most caring, focused for equitable growth based on diversified deployment of resources, and nevertheless would remain healthy and gainfully profitable Bank. Objectives of Mercantile Bank:

The objective of MBL is not only to earn profit but also to keep the social commitment and to ensure its co-operation to the persons of all level, to the businessman, industrialist – specially whom are engages in establishing large scale industry by consortium and the agro based export oriented medium and small scale industries by self inspiration. Strategic Objective: ? To achieve Economic Value Added (EVA) each year. ? To be market leader in product innovation. ? To be one of the top three financial institutions in Bangladesh in terms of cost efficiency. ? To be one of the top five financial institutions in Bangladesh in terms of market share in all significant market segments that the bank serve. Financial Objective: To achieve a return on shareholder’s equity of 20% or more, on average. 2. 4. Core values: For the Customers: providing with the caring services by being innovation in the development of new banking products and services. For the Shareholders: maximizing wealth of the bank. For The Employees: respecting worth dignity of individual employees devoting their energies for the progress of the bank. For the Community: strengthening the corporate values and taking environment and social risks and reward into account. INVESTORS INFORMATION: Investor can be informed about any information from Dhaka Stock Exchange Website and Bank’s website: • www. dsebd. org • www. mblbd. com 2. 5.

Management aspect of MBL: The Board of Directors being at the highest level of organizational structure plays an important role on the policy formulation. The Board of Directors is not directly concern with day-to-day operation of Bank. They had delegated their authority to the Managing Director and CEO to look after the day-to-day affairs of the Bank. The Bank is running by an excellent management team under the direct supervision of a competent Board of Directors. The Board of Directors comprises total thirteen members, which is within the maximum limit as imposed by BPRD circular-12, dated April 26,2003of Bangladesh Bank, headed by the Chairman.

Md. Abdul Jalil, is the present Chairman of the Board. The Managing Director (MD) and CEO head management team. Mr. Dewan Mujibur Rahman is the present Managing Director and CEO of MBL. The management hierarchy of Mercantile Bank Limited is given below: | Board of Directors | | Managing Director | | Additional Managing Director | | Deputy Managing Director | | Senior Executive Vice President | Executive Vice President | | Senior Vice President | | Vice President | | First Vice President | | Asst. Vice President | | First Asst. Vice President | |Senior Principal Officer | | Principal Officer | | Senior Officer | Officer | | Junior Officer | | Assistant Officer | Figure: The management hierarchy of MBL 2. 6. Divisional aspect of MBL: There are total fourteen divisions in the Head Office of MBL. List of various divisions of MBL is given below: | Audit and Inspection division | | Central Accounts Division | | | Credit Division | | Marketing, Development Banking Division | | General Services Division | |Human Resources Division | | International Division | | Information Technology Division | | Research Division | | Treasury Market Division | | Board Secretariat& Share Dept. | | Cost Control Dept. | Law & Recovery Dept. | | Card Cell | Fig: Divisions of MBL 2. 7. Branch Network: MBL is one of the 3rd generation commercial Bank in private sector of Bangladesh. The Bank within stipulation lay down by the Bank Company Act 1991 and directives as received from Bangladesh Bank from time to time provide all types of commercial Banking services. It has 42 branches all over the country and also enlisted the Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchange as publicly quoted company for its general class of share. |Bank’s Name |Name of Region/Zone |No. f Branches | | |Dhaka |19 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |MERCANTILE BANK LIMITED | | | | |Gazipur |02 | | |Chittagong |06 | | |Sylhet |02 | | |Moulvibazar |01 | |Comilla |01 | | |Noakhali |01 | | |Bogra |01 | | |Rajshahi | 01 | | |Rangpur |01 | | |Barisal |01 | | |Khulna |01 | | |Naogaon |02 | | |Cox’sbazar |01 | | |Feni |01 | | |Shariatpur |01 | | |Total Branches |42 |

Table: Branches of MBL [pic] 2. 8: Information about the Satmasjid Road Branch: Address of Branch: Satmasjid Road Branch House: 735(old), 82/A (New) Road: 8/A (New), Satmasjid Road Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205 e-mail:mblsat@mblbd. com Phone: 9139183, PABX: 8112463-4, 9141148 Fax: +88029139183 SWIFT: MBLB BD DH Opening Date: 1st November, 2004 as 22nd Branch of MBL. Number of Employees: 22 Name of Manager: Shamim Ahmed, Vice President & Head of Branch. Mercantile Bank has purchased the land and building of this Branch Last month where it operates. 2. 9: FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF MERCANTILE BANK LIMITED: (BDT in million) MERCANTILE BANK LIMITED AT A GLANCE: Particulars |2005 |2006 |2007 |2008 | |Authorized Capital |1,200. 00 |3,000. 00 |3,000. 00 |3,000. 00 | |Paid-up Capital |999. 27 |1,199. 12 |1,498. 90 |1,798. 68 | |Total Assets |28,890. 48 |37,159. 65 |44,940. 54 |55,928. 72 | |Deposits |25,087. 43 |33,332. 65 |39,348. 00 |49,538. 36 | |Loan & Advances |21,857. 05 |26,842. 14 |31,877. 86 |41,993. 5 | |Import |33,271. 90 |42,442. 80 |40,380. 10 |56,528. 80 | |Export |24,108. 57 |34,592. 10 |32,670. 10 |43,108. 50 | |Remittance |679. 10 |2,989. 10 |3,510. 40 |4,722. 90 | |Profit after tax |386. 83 |494. 22 |540. 50 |615. 88 | |No. Of Branches |28 |35 |41 |42 | |No.

Of Employees |663 |879 |945 |1115 | |No. Of Foreign Correspondents |266 |306 |584 |586 | 2. 10. Nature of Business: The Bank engaged in all types of commercial Banking services within the stipulations laid down by Bank Companies Act 1991 and directives as received from Bangladesh Bank from time to time. All types of Commercial Banking Services are provided by the Bank within the stipulations laid down by Bank Companies Act. 1991 and directives as received from Bangladesh Bank from time to time.

Commercial Banking is the core activity of Mercantile Bank Limited. The bank serves all type customers ranging from individuals to corporate bodies, both private and public. Mainly MBL collects deposit from the people at lower rate and invests the same to the people again at higher rate. And difference between lower rate of deposit and higher rate of investment is the earnings of the Bank. MBL mainly invests in industrial sector like short term, Middle term as well as long term for import of capital machineries, establish new industry and working capital assistances with this Bank play’s a significant role in Bangladesh economy. The functions of commercial banks are now wide and varied. However the unctions of commercial banks may broadly be classified into the following three categories: 1. General Banking 2. Credit and investment 3. Foreign Trade (Import, Export & Remittance) 2. 11. Financial products and services of MBL: The bank has launched a number of financial products and services since its inception. Among them the followings have attained wide acceptance among the people ? Various Deposit Schemes : ? Double Benefit Deposit Scheme (DBDS) ? Family Maintenance Deposit (FMD) ? Mashik Sanchaya Prokalpa (MSK) Or Monthly Savings Scheme (MSS) ? Quarterly Benefit Deposit Scheme ? 1. 5 Times Benefit Deposit Scheme ? Advance Benefit Deposit Scheme (ABDS) Or

Agrim Munafa Amanat Prokolpo (AMAP). Deposit Schemes : Monthly Saving Scheme The prime objective of this scheme is to encourage the people to develop their habit of saving. Under this scheme, one can save a fixed amount of return every month and get a lucrative amount of return after five, eight or ten years. Family Maintenance Deposit Scheme Under this scheme, one can deposit a certain amount of money for five years and in return he/she will receive benefits on monthly basis. Benefit start right from the first month of opening an account under the scheme and continue up to five years. On maturity the principal amount will be paid back. Double Benefit Deposit Scheme

Under this scheme, one can deposit a certain amount of money for a six year period. After six years, the deposit amount will be doubled. Quarterly Benefit Deposit Scheme Under the Quarterly Benefit Deposit Scheme, one can deposit for a period of three years and in return depositor will receive benefits on quarterly basis. Benefit starts right from the first quarter of opening an account under the scheme and continues up to three years. On maturity the principal amount will be paid back. 1. 5 Time Benefit Deposit Scheme Under the 1. 5 Times Benefit Deposit Scheme, one can deposit a certain amount of money for 42 months or three and half years. On maturity, the depositor will receive 1. 5 time of the deposited amount.

Advance Benefit Deposit Scheme Under this Scheme, one can deposit a certain amount of money for two years. The depositor will receive the benefit on yearly basis. The benefit amount of first year will be received in advance at the time of deposit. On maturity, the depositor will get back the principal amount with the benefit amount of second year. ? Various Credit Schemes : ? Consumers Credit Scheme (CCS) ? Car Loan Scheme ? Doctors Credit Scheme ? Rural Development Scheme ? Lease Financing ? Personal Loan ? Small Loan Loan Products: Consumer Credit Scheme Consumers’ Credit Scheme is one of the popular areas of collateral-free finance of the Bank.

People with limited income can avail of credit facility to buy household goods including computer and other consumer durables. Small Loan Scheme This scheme has been designed especially for the businessmen who need credit facility for their business and can’t provide tangible securities. Lease Finance This scheme has been designed to assist and encourage the genuine and capable entrepreneurs and professionals for acquiring capital machineries, medical equipments, computers, vehicle and other items. Flexibility and easier terms and conditions of this scheme have attracted the potential entrepreneurs to acquire equipments of production and services and repay gradually from earnings on the basis of ‘Pay as you earn’.

Doctors’ Credit Scheme Doctors’ Credit Scheme is designed to facilitate financing to fresh medical graduates and established physicians to acquire medical equipments and set up clinics and hospitals. Rural Development Scheme Rural Development Scheme targeted for the rural people of the country to make them self-employed through financing various income-generating projects. This scheme is operated on group basis. Woman Entrepreneurs Development Scheme Women Entrepreneurs Development Scheme has been introduced to encourage women in doing business. Under this scheme, the Bank finances the small and cottage industry projects sponsored by women. SME Loan Scheme

Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Loan Scheme has been introduced to provide financial assistance to new or experienced entrepreneurs to invest in small and medium scale industries with a comparatively low rate of interest as the same is assisted by the Bangladesh Bank with refinancing facilities. Personal Loan Scheme Personal Loan Scheme has been introduced to extend credit facilities to cater the needs of low and middle-income group for any purpose. Government and semi-government officials, employees of autonomous bodies, banks and other financial organizations, multinational companies, reputed private organizations and teachers of recognized public and private schools, colleges and universities are eligible for this loan. Car Loan Scheme Car Loan Scheme has been introduced to enable middle-income people to purchase Cars/SUVs/Jeeps.

Government and semi-government officials, employees of autonomous bodies, banks and other financial organizations, multinational companies, reputed private organizations, teachers of recognized public and private universities and businessmen are eligible for this loan. Home Loan Scheme To meet the growing need of housing for middle and lower-middle income people, MBL has introduced Home Loan Scheme. We also support the Bangladesh Bank’s Home Loan Refinance Scheme. The Scheme boosts up the growth of housing sector. Such loan shall be available for purchase or construction of new apartments for self-residing purpose. Overseas Employment Loan Scheme Overseas Employment Loan Scheme is designed to facilitate the Bangladeshi youths seeking employment aboard but who are unable to meet the expenses to reach the workplace from their own sources.

The ultimate objectives of the scheme is to promote skilled / semi-skilled manpower to different countries across the world as well as to provide support to Government Policy considering priority of this sector. By availing loan under this scheme, the active youths of middle and lower middle class can get overseas employment by avoiding borrowing from the illustrious class or village ‘mohajon’ at a very high cost or selling their paternal properties. The scheme helps fetching foreign currency for the country as well as fulfill the Bank’s commitment to encourage micro-lending for poverty alleviation, improve the quality of life and thereby contribute to socio-economic development of the country. ? Foreign Exchange Services: ? Export Finance ? Import Finance ? Inward Remittance ? Issue L/C ? Shipping Guarantee 2. 12. Credit Policy of MBL:

MBL credit policy contains the views of total macro-economic development of the county as a whole by way of providing financial support to the Trade, Commerce and Industry. Throughout its credit operation Mercantile Bank Limited goes to very possible corners of the society. They are financing large and medium scale business house and industry. At the same time they also takes care entrepreneurs through its operation of lease financing and some micro credit, Small Loan scheme etc. As a part of its Credit Policy MBL through its credit operation maintains commitment for social welfare. The bank is coming up with a scheme where the under privileged children will be given financial support for education and self-employment.

From operational aspects it is observed that as a matter of policy. i. Mercantile Bank Limited put emphasis on the customer i. e. the ‘Man’ and the Business not on the Security in selecting borrowers. ii. It takes of diversity in credit portfolio. iii. It takes care maintaining proper Mix of short, medium and ling term finance in its credit portfolio usually they do not go for long term Finance for a period not exceeding 5 years. iv. Charging of interest is flexible depending on insisting of the proposal and the customer [pic] Chapter: 03 General Banking Activities: 3. 1: Introduction 3. 2: Account Opening 3. 3: Different Types of Scheme and Features 3. : Cash Department 3. 5: Clearing House 3. 6: Issuing PO, DD, TT 3. 7: Dispatch 3. 8: Issuing cheque 3. 9: Closing of an Account 3. 1: Introduction: All business concerns earn a profit through selling either a product or service. A bank does not produce any tangible product to sell but does offer a variety of financial services to customers. General banking is the starting point of all the banking operations. It is the department, which provides day-to- day services to the customers. Everyday it receives deposits from the customers and meets their demand for cash by honoring cheque. It opens new accounts, remit funds, issue bank draft and pay orders etc.

Since bank is confined to provide the service everyday, general banking is also known as retail banking. This section provides the following services: • Primary Information • Account Opening • Cheque Issuing • Pay order Issuing • Issuing Telegraphic Transfer (TT) • Issuing Demand Draft (DD) • Dispatch patch • Clearing • Cash department PRIMARY INFORMATION Customer gets primary information about the bank’s services from this section. Then they are sent the other section under their demanding services. 3. 2: ACCOUNT OPENING: There are different types of account as offered by MBL: i. Savings Account ii. Current account iii. STD (Short term deposit) iv. FDR (Fixed deposit receipt) v. MSS (Monthly saving scheme) SAVINGS ACCOUNT This account is basically offered those customers who want to save money at any time. Customer can save his/ her money according to his/ her declaration. The minimum amount of opening charge of savings account is TK. 1,000. But it should be mentioned that when customer want to close the tax is deducted from the interest and have to pay closing charge TK. 100. If want to transfer customer have to pay TK. 200 for transfer charge. • Requirements: • Form must be properly filled up • Have a introducer who introduce the account holder • Two copies of passport size photograph of account holder • One copy of passport size photograph of nominee Have to fill up declaration form where must mention amount of each transaction and annual turnover • Have to fill KYC (Know Your Customer) form, • Have to submit National ID Card ( for all customer) • Have to submit student ID Card (for student) • Have to submit trade license (for business) • Deed (for partnership) • Have to submit TIN number • Have to submit photocopy of passport. ? CURRENT ACCOUNT Current account mainly opened for the Companies and partnership firm. The amount of this account’s transaction would be big. The requirements of opening this account are given below. • Requirements: For Individual / Joint Account • Two photographs of account holder. • Identity (copy of passport, National ID card, Commissioner Certificate). • Joint Declaration Form (For joint a/c only). Employee’s Certificate (in case of service holder). • One photographs of nominee. For Limited Company: • Copy of valid trade license. • Copy of certificate of incorporation. • Certified Copy of Memorandum of Associations and Articles of Associations. • Up to Date List of Directors. • Board Resolution Regarding Opening and Operations of Bank Account With Mercantile Bank Limited ………… Branch. • (Resolution should be in accordance with the provision of Articles of Association of the Company. • Copy of Certificate of Commencement of Business- for Public Limited Company Only. For Partnership Firms: • Copy of valid trade license. • Copy of Partnership Deed. Letter of Account Agreement (Partnership) Duly Signed by all The Partners in Their Personal Capacity. • Letter of Partnership Duly Signed by All the Partners in Their Personal Capacity. Club / societies account • Two photographs of each account holder. • Board Resolution for Opening A/C duly certified by President/ Secretary. • List of Existing Managing Committee. • Registration (if any). • Rubber Stamp. • Permission letter from Bureau of N. G. O. (In case of N. G. O. A/C). ? SHORT TERM DEPOSIT(STD) This account is basically offered those customers who want to save money/ make transaction of a big amount at any time. The businessmen are mainly the customer of this account who makes huge amount transaction in a month.

Customer can save his/ her money according to his/ her declaration. The minimum amount of opening charge of savings account is TK. 100,000. But it should be mentioned that when customer want to close, the tax is deducted from the interest and have to pay closing charge TK. 100. If want to transfer customer have to pay TK. 200 for transfer charge. Requirements: • Form must be properly filled up • Have a introducer who introduce the account holder • Two copies of passport size photograph of account holder • One copy of passport size photograph of nominee • Have to fill up declaration form where must mention amount of each transaction and annual turnover • Have to fill KYC (Know Your Customer) form, Have to submit National ID Card ( for all customer) • Have to submit student ID Card (for student) • Have to submit trade license (for business) • Deed (for partnership) • Have to submit TIN number • Have to submit photocopy of passport 3. 3:Different Types of Scheme and Features: ? MASHIK SHANCHOY SCHEME: The money is fixed up to a certain months or year. Bank gives them interest against this money. If customer doesn’t encashment his/ her fixed deposit at a time the amount is auto renewed and the interest is applied automatically at the account. |Amount |TK. 500 |TK. 1000 |TK. 1500 |TK. 2500 |TK. 000 | |Years | | | | | | |5 years |38250 |76500 |114750 |191250 |382500 | |8 years |71500 |143000 |214500 |357500 |715000 | |10 years |100000 |200000 |300000 |500000 |1000000 | ? DOUBLE BENEFIT SCHEME: Objectives: ? Give maximum benefit. ? Help in meeting specific needs like education, marriage etc. Deposit becomes double in seven and half years. Mode: Tenure of the deposit is 7. 5 years. Amount of DepositPeriod Amount Payable 1, 00,000 7. 5 Years 2, 00,000 Other Features: ? The Minimum amount of deposit is BDT 50,000. 00(Fifty thousand) or its multiples. ? All taxes/duty/levy and /or any other surcharges presently in force or that may be imposed by the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) from time to time will be deducted/ recovered from the deposit account under this scheme. ? In case of premature encashment interest will be paid on Saving A/C Rate. ? Loan may be granted up to maximum 80% of the deposited amount but minimum principle amount must be BDT 20,000. 00. Loan processing fee be realized BDT 50. 00 only and usual stamp costs also be realized. For example: Initial amount is TK. 1000,000 The bank give interest TK. 100,000 against TK. 100,000 deposit Customer gets TK. 190,000 (200,000-100,000@1% tax = TK. 190,000) Requirements: Form must be properly filled up, One copy of passport size photograph of account holder, One copy of passport size photograph of nominee, ? ADVANCED DEPOSIT SCHEME: Objectives: ? Get Extra benefit from Minimum Deposit. Mode: Maintained for a period of 2 (Two) years. Minimum deposit amount 1,00,000(One Lac) only. Interest Rate Per BDT One Lac : BDT 1 Lac (One Lac) , Tk. 9,500. 00 for first year Tk. ,09,250. 00 for second year. Other Features o All taxes/duty/levy and/or any other surcharges presently in force or that may be imposed by the government of Bangladesh from time to time in Deposit Accounts will also be applicable for the account for the account opened under this scheme and such taxes/duty/levy and/or any other surcharges shall be deducted/ recovered from the deposit account under this schemes. o Loan may be granted up to maximum 70% of deposit. ? Times Benefit Deposit Scheme Under the ‘1. 5 Times Benefit Deposit Scheme’ a deposit of minimum BDT 50,000. 00 (fifty thousand) or its multiples will be received for a period of 4. 2 years.

On maturity, 1. 5 times of the deposited amount will be paid back to the account holder as per example given below: Example: Initial Deposit (BDT)50,000. 001, 00,000. 005, 00,000. 00 Return after 4. 2 years (BDT) 75,000. 00150000. 00 750000. 00 Other Features: ? All taxes/duty/levy and /or any other surcharges presently in force or that may be imposed by the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) from time to time will be deducted/ recovered from the deposit account under this scheme. ? In case of premature encashment interest will be paid on Saving A/C Rate. However, no interest shall be paid if premature encashment take place before expiry of 1 (one) year. In the event of death of the depositor before the maturity, the deposit account may be encased (premature) as per rule or may be continued up to maturity on written approach by the nominee(s). ? Loan may be granted up to maximum 80% of the deposited amount but minimum principle amount must be BDT 20,000. 00. ? Loan processing fee be realized BDT 50. 00 only and usual stamp costs also be realized. ? FAMILY MAINTENANCE SCHEME Objectives: ? Help the retired persons for investing their retirement benefits. ? Create investment opportunities for Non-Resident Bangladeshi. ? Explore investment opportunities for school, college, university etc. ? Give investment opportunities for Trust; Foundation etc. Mode: Deposit a fixed amount of money for 05 (Five) years.

Depositor will get a certain sum of money in each month proportion to his/her deposit during the entire tenure. Benefits: Tenure of deposit is 05 (Five) years. Minimum amount of required deposit is TK. 50,000. 00 or its multiple DepositMonthly Benefit (Amount in TK. ) 1, 00,000800 2, 00,0001, 600 3, 00,0002, 400 Other Features o The Minimum amount of deposit is BDT 50,000. 00 (Fifty thousand) or its multiples. o All taxes/duty/levy and /or any other surcharges persently in force or that may be imposed by the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) from time to time will be deducted/ recovered from the deposit account under this scheme. o In case of premature encashment interest will be paid on Saving A/C Rate. A saving account will be needed to be maintained to receive quarterly benefit payment. o Loan may be granted up to maximum 80% of the forced encashment value on the date of loan processing. During the period of continuation of loan, monthly benefits of FMD account will be credited only to loan account. o Loan processing fee be realized BDT 50. 00 only and stamp costs also be realized. ? QUARTERLY BENEFIT SCHEME The ‘Quarterly Benefit Deposit Scheme’ will be maintained for a period of 3 (three) years and the minimum amount of deposit is BDT 50,000. 00 (fifty thousand) or its multiples. Interest will be paid on quarterly basis as per example given below. On maturity the principal amount will be paid back.

Initial Deposit (BDT)TermQuarterly Benefit Payable (BDT) 50,000 3 Years 1,200 100,000 3 Years 2,400 200,000 3 Years 3,600 Other Features: ? All taxes/duty/levy and /or any other surcharges presently in force or that may be imposed by the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) from time to time will be deducted/ recovered from the deposit account under this scheme. ? Loan may be granted up to maximum 80% of the forced encashment value on the date of loan processing. During the period of continuation of loan, quarterly benefits will be credited only to loan account. ? Loan processing fee be realized BDT 50. 00 only and usual stamp costs also be realized. FIXED DEPOSIT:

The money is fixed up to a certain months or year. Bank gives them interest against this money. If customer doesn’t encashment his/ her fixed deposit at a time the amount is auto renewed and the interest is applied automatically at the account. |Amount |Months/ Year |Interest | |TK. 10,000< |1 month/ 2 months/ 3 months |8. 5% | |TK. 10,000< |3 months< |11. 50% | o Form must be properly filled up One copy of passport size photograph of account holder o One copy of passport size photograph of nominee 3. 4: Cash Department: Opening of Cash: Beginning balance is used to start daily transaction & maintenance of Receipt and Payment Registers while receiving & paying different amount of cash. Previously issued cheque will be paid if issued 6 months before. Advance issued cheque cannot be made payment even one day before. Evening Banking: Can only receive cash. No payment can be made except some special cases. Issue Note: Notes issued by the bank & accepted by the people, fresh notes. Non-issue Note: Notes cannot be issued for public like torn, mutilated notes Soiled Notes etc. 3. 5: Clearing House: Functions of Clearing Clearing stands for mutual settlement of claims made in among member banks at an agreed time and place in respect of instruments drawn on each other. • Clearing house is an arrangement under which member banks agree to meet, through their representative, at the appointed time and place to deliver instruments drawn on them. • The net amount payable or receivable as the case may be, is settled through an account kept with the controlling bank (Bangladesh Bank). [pic] Types of clearing • Outward clearing • Inward clearing Types of returns • Outward return • Inward return Clearing (Outward) process: tier First tier: Collection Branch Second tier: Principal Branch/local office Third tier: Clearing house (Bangladesh Bank) Clearing (Inward) process: tier

First tier: Clearing house (Bangladesh Bank) Second tier: Principal Branch/ Main Branch Third tier: Paying Branch 3. 6: ISSUEING PO, DD, TT: ? Pay Order: This is one type of security. This can not be transferred. Anyone can draw a pay order. The pay order can be encashment from any bank. |Amount |Commission |Vat | |1>10,000 |25 |4 | |10,000< 1,000,000 |50 |8 | |100,000

In the United State s of America . From 1998 to the present, this country has strayed away from the ideals pre sensed within the Declaration of Independence. Three major ideas expressed in the Declared ion were the natural laws giving the people the right to assert political independence as long as the e reason for doing so is Justified, the Inalienable rights of people to life liberty and the pursuit of h peppiness, and the purpose of government to protect these rights and In case of failure to do so e abolished.

These three examples, the Republic of Lookout, the excellently Issue, and the numb ere of militias around the united States give evidence to the claim that the united States ha s moved further away from the main ideas within the Declaration of Independence. The Republic of Lookout claims to exist today in the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, and Wyoming. It is the supposed homeland of the Alack a Native American tribe.

It is not recognized by the federal government of the United States. I n 2007, the Lookout Freedom delegation, led by Russell Means, traveled to Washington where he submitted statement declaring Independence from the U. S. The reason professed by the Alack ah Is that they were never a part of the country and were being ruled by force. From a legal sat endpoint the Lookout claim to have always been a sovereign nation under Article Six of the Consist caution.

The Lookout have provided legitimate reasons to exercise their right to secede from the U. S. Claims made by the Lookout have not been taken seriously by Congress. By seemingly ignoring Eng the pleas of the Lookout, Congress Is Ignoring the natural law outlined In the Declaration of Independence thus making it’s way further from the ideals held sacred in the dotcom

Role of Finance Companies Traditional role of Finance Companies The finance companies are much smaller in scale compared with commercial banks, and they are also saddled with more restrictions which will be discussed later in the report. Traditionally, they relied on their personalized and flexible services to attract clients.

This is because there are always consumers who are rejected by the commercial banks because adding these consumers to their portfolios would be uneconomical for these commercial banks as their economies of scale cannot offset the transactional costs these clients would bring because of the small margins these smaller consumers bring. These mainly include people or companies who do not have the capital to meet the relatively higher capital requirements of the commercial banks compared to finance companies. One example would be the current business account for companies.

The major banks such as DBS and OCBC also offer low startup requirements, but charge a monthly management fee if their balances fall below $10,000 , not a big amount for businesses but possibly a stretch on new and small scale businesses. Hence, finance companies plug that gap with much lower balance requirements that would be more attractive to these business owners. Another example would be home loans by which finance companies offer a wider range of interest rates for a different range of financing needs compared to commercial banks who offer more generic rates on a whole. Emerging opportunities for Finance Companies

Financial companies are however, now exploring new opportunities that they have not been able to capitalize on before. For example, Hong Leong has recently been awarding underwriting rights by the MAS, a traditional stronghold of commercial banks. This has redefined the boundaries that a traditional finance company in Singapore held due to regulations under the finance companies’ act. Wealth management, a relatively fast growing new segment in Singapore, has seen Hong Leong also wrestling in with a slice of the pie that many expected the commercial and investment banks monopolize.

Industry Performance Finance companies form a small and unique portion of the financial services sector here in Singapore. A large part of their income comes in the form of interest income from loans and also commission fees for services that they offer. By focusing on domestic opportunities, they have managed to avoid exposure to the credit crisis that many others in the sector have been affected by. This has thus helped all 3 firms in the sector to post stellar results over the past year. As shown below, Singapore’s GDP growth YoY was 7. 7%, a slight moderation from the 8. % in 2006. This represents opportunities as the need for financial services increase as people in Singapore gain affluence. Growth of profit for Finance Companies Growth on EBIT ranged from a low of 38. 7% to a high of 65. 2% riding on increased receivables for all 3 finance companies. This is exceptional considering the cloud that has shrouded the financial sector in recent times. In dollar terms, their profits grew by SGD$43million to a total of over SGD$150million. Also, operational efficiency was a strong driver of the profit growth.

Revenues remained rather stable and it was the decreased operating costs that led to higher profits according to the financial reports released. This could be due to reasons such as improved technical systems or improved employee proficiencies. Growth of property & construction revenue segment There is a strong focus on the “heartland” consumers and increased demand for housing, particularly in HDB flats, has led to opportunities that finance companies have leveraged on to cement their stake in this niche market.

Although commercial banks also offer housing loans, finance companies are able to adapt each individual loan to consumer’s requirements because they enjoy greater flexibility especially for smaller loans that larger financial institutions do not want to accommodate to enjoy the relatively small returns. Looking at the breakdown of loans and advances of Finance Companies, we can see a large part is driven by the building and construction sector in Singapore, which was booming last yea. The building sector was driven by the construction of the 2 integrated resorts and a booming property market last year.

A key driver of the industry, construction growth, which represents a large portion of finance companies’ interest income, grew at a rate of 20. 3% in 2007, compared to 3. 6% in 2006. The bull run in the property market, as mentioned, has also contributed to the sector’s good performance. Property agents have described in particular, the HDB resale market as the kingpin of the real estate sector. Projected unit sales are estimated to be at 30,000 by industry players. Average prices rose 17% for 2007.

This, coinciding with a new government initiative to encourage singles to live with their parents by providing a grant of up to $9000, has led to a boom for the property market domestically in recent times. The government’s policy to target an eventually population size of 6million citizens would lead to an increased demand for housing as more and more immigrants look to plant their roots here. Thus, we can expect housing loans to continue to be a strong driver of performance for finance companies into the foreseeable future. Increase in SME initiatives

The government’s initiative to increase SME competitiveness and promote entrepreneurship has also facilitated the expansion of this revenue segment for financial companies. The founding of organizations such as SPRING help to spur and stimulate the growth of target sectors for these financial companies. Initiatives such as the Micro Loan Programme under SPRING create direct market share for these finance companies for those who are rejected by the commercial banks for loans. A look through the Hong Leong Finance website shows at least 11 initiatives directed at SMEs alone.

This shows the importance of this particular revenue segment to finance companies. Therefore, the future of this key driver of finance companies’ success looks to be rosy given the support that SMEs receive domestically from the government. It is also important to note that finance companies give incentives by positioning themselves as service providers for smaller enterprises who require greater flexibility in terms of financing requirements. As mentioned earlier in the report, this is due to the fact that it is uneconomical for commercial banks to process some enquiries and loans because they are uneconomical given the scale of operations.

Summing up, the performances of finance companies have been exceptional with impressive growth figures. However, as the recession worries and full effects of the sub-prime issues slowly uncover, finance companies may yet be exposed to underlying issues that may influence performances in the near future. Next, we shall examine some of the trends in the finance company sector and try to identify key issues that may offer insights into what we can expect from these finance companies in the future given what we have already discussed. We would also examine a key player to try and gain insights into how these finance companies operate.

TRENDS AND ISSUES IN THE FINANCE COMPANIES SECTOR: SINGAPORE 1. Consolidation within industry One of the most pervasive trends identified in the last decade in the finance companies sector is the consolidation of the industry. This is evident from the number of finance companies that have ceased operations. Some of these companies were forced out of the industry due to regulatory changes, while others, like OCBC Finance, simply merged with their principal companies. Since 1996, 19 finance companies have surrendered their finance companies’ license, with only 3 main finance companies remaining by the end of 2007.

Accordingly, the assets and liabilities of finance companies as a whole have declined dramatically over the past decade, before stabilizing and increasing steadily over the past 3 years to around 10 billion dollars. Finance companies’ assets decreasing before stabilizing and recovering, and consolidation. 1. 1 Regulatory changes One of the catalysts for this consolidation is no doubt the regulatory changes that MAS has put into effect. Since December 1994, the Finance Companies Act was revised to raise the minimum capital requirement for finance companies from $0. to $50 million, and existing finance companies were given until 2003 to gather the required amount. This effectively meant that finance companies which did not have the required capital had to either merge with other players in the industry including banks, or raise the required capital. Hong Leong Singapore Finance, the finance company in Singapore today, is the result of such a merger between Hong Leong and Singapore Finance. Examples of mergers with their parent banks include Maybank Finance, and Overseas Union Trust, which of course was subsequently absorbed into UOB.

It could be argued that even without regulatory changes, mergers and acquisitions are inevitable for the smaller companies to survive. Regardless, the changes put into place by MAS has forced the industry to evolve into one with lesser, but stronger players. 1. 2 Increasing competition In 1998, then DPM Lee Hsien Loong remarked in a parliamentary session that the rationale behind these regulatory changes was to “enable finance companies to have the resources to compete more effectively and increase public confidence in them. Hence, another major reason for the consolidation in the industry can be attributed to the increasingly intense competition from commercial banks and other financial institutions which provide similar services. Loans and other services catered to SMEs, which the full banks typically deemed unprofitable, were traditionally the strong suit of finance companies. From data gathered on the 3 existing finance companies, loans and services to SMEs forms over 40% of their portfolios.

However, in the past decade, many commercial banks have started divisions to tap into the SME market made popular by finance companies. Finance companies thus now have to contend not only with each other, but commercial banks as well. This means that badly run finance companies simply could not contend with the competition and were targets for other finance companies’ acquisitions to boost their own ability to compete. 1. 3Niche markets Finance companies are usually able to compete with commercial banks because they offer services to niche markets (usually SMEs) which then form a large part of their portfolio.

In today’s financial markets, Hong Leong Singapore Finance is known to target clients within the SME, consumer housing and the silver industry. Sing Investments and Finance has loans in the construction and property development sectors amounting to 68% of their loans portfolio. However, the population of such niche markets are usually much smaller than mainstream financial markets, and companies need to be able to capture a larger market share within the niches to be able to offer products with a competitive edge over commercial banks.

Under the basic tenets of economics, this means that a only a small number of firms are needed to satisfy demand in such niche markets. Hence, there is necessarily a trend towards consolidation of similar firms within the separate niche markets in a ‘survival of the fittest’-style competition, which is the situation being faced with today. 1. 4 Global mergers and acquisition trends Mergers and acquisitions have been widespread and plentiful in recent times, and although this directly impacts the trend of mergers within the finance companies sector, there are also indirect effects to be discussed.

One must consider that the increasing prevalence of large, merger companies necessarily means that the pool of smaller companies, of which finance companies cater to, is steadily decreasing. Such large merger companies usually go to commercial banks for the more sophisticated and diverse range of credit options which finance companies are simply unable to provide, either because of regulatory restrictions from the Finance Companies Act, or because they do not have the resources to do so.

Again, this results in a net effect of finance companies having to merge themselves to operate effectively and efficiently to capture this diminishing pool of available business. TRENDS AND ISSUES IN THE FINANCE COMPANIES SECTOR: INTERNATIONAL International finance companies Unlike in Singapore, a legal definition of ‘finance company’ exists, there is no clear definition on what constitutes a finance company in the overseas financial markets. However, there is a general consensus that finance companies provide mainly lending services to consumers and small businesses.

As with finance companies in Singapore, international finance companies typically target these clients that the major banks overlook, or have specializations in specific industries that make them more attractive to customers seeking credit services within these industries. Unlike Singapore, where only 3 such companies now operate, there are literally thousands of such companies overseas catering to different industries and customer bases, and it will be definitely be out of the scope of this report to discuss each one in detail.

Also, the nature of the finance companies sector is such that they are more influenced by regulations and performances of industries within the countries in which they operate, and less affected by global financial trends. A simple example of this is in Singapore, where finance companies have been fairly shielded from the turmoil in overseas financial markets led by the subprime crisis in the US. Instead, they have been doing well, largely owing to the boom in the local property, auto and SME markets. It is thus more appropriate to examine the issues and trends of nternational finance companies in the context of the local markets which they serve, rather than to identify and global trends that affect all financial markets. Hence, we have decided to focus our attention on finance companies operating within 3 countries where financial markets are relatively mature and established, and whose activities are more transparent and in the limelight. These are Australia, Japan and USA. 2. Finance companies in Australia The finance companies scene in Australia is thriving, and has witness continued growth in the last 3 years.

Another good year was recorded in 2006/2007 with both business and personal lending continuing to grow. Finance companies in Australia have long been a significant sector in the Australian financial services market, offering a wide range of products including business leasing, fleet leasing and personal lending. Such companies provide an alternative source of borrowing to the banks, building societies and credit unions. The two largest finance companies operating in Australia are Esanda and Capital Finance, which collectively represents almost 40% of the sector’s operating profits after tax.

Some of the key issues which have impacted profits in the last 2 years include: ? asset growth of 7. 1% leading to an increase in interest income ? increased competition leading to reduced margins and fee income ? increased bad debts expenses ?reduced profits on motor vehicle lending 2. 1 Australia – Reliance on Auto Industry and Industry Trends The auto industry is a major driver of performance of the finance companies sector in Australia, no doubt because the majority of the finance companies are exposed to the sector.

This may be in the form of lending to consumers and businesses to purchase their motor vehicles, financing auto dealers’ purchase inventories, or providing fleet management businesses. The growth of finance companies coincides with the auto industry’s boom in the past 5 years, with 4 consecutive years of record sales up to 2005. Provision of loans to purchase large cars dropped 18 percent largely due to the change in consumer purchasing habits from the price hikes in oil. Instead, smaller car sales were up 21 percent, contributing to increased revenues for finance companies.

However, the increased affordability of new cars in the last 5 years has created difficulties for finance companies which provide fleet management services, such as BMW Finance and ORIX, since such companies suffer reduced profits on the sale of cars at the end of their lease. In recent times, the focus of many of the larger finance companies have shifted to diversification of services. This is similar to Hong Leong Singapore Finance’s strategy in Singapore, which is to take on the major banks at their own game, such as providing property and construction facilities.

GE Money’s expansion into credit cards, mortgages and on-line savings provide another example of Australian finance companies’ diversification. Just as the finance companies are expanding their services to include services provided by major finance players such as banks, so are the majors entering into sectors traditionally dominated by finance companies. This includes areas such as lending secured on receivables, consumer and low-doc lending. This has increased competition among Australian finance companies, which is further crowded by new entrants such as Aussie Home Loans’ plans to target car and personal lending markets. . 2 Australia – Growth in Assets, Personal and Business lending Total assets of the finance companies surveyed increased 7. 1 percent to $37. 5 billion, slightly down from 8. 1 percent growth in the previous year, but this still represents a strong rate of growth. This trend has been observed for the past 4 years, and can largely be attributed to lending growth in the business and personal sectors. Even though finance companies in Australia only accounts for 5 percent of total Australian loans and advances, their market share is considerably higher in traditionally key markets of business lending and personal lending.

This is estimated to be around 10 and 15 percent approximately. Since finance companies in Australia are typically not exposed to the housing mortgage market, they are not affected much by the decline in the housing market that is being experienced in global markets. However, the quality of the assets seem to be an issue for finance companies. Total bad and doubtful debt expense increased 32 percent from 2006. Even when viewed in context in the growth of receivables, the ratio of bad debts to average receivables increased.

Hence, unlike in Singapore, it does seem that Australian finance companies suffers somewhat from increase in credit losses. However, this is to be expected since finance companies typically engage in less secure lending to less credit worthy customers in exchange for a higher margin. It must also be said that the amount of credit losses increases pales in comparison with the subprime losses that major international banks have faced even with supposed tighter credit checks. 3. Finance companies in Japan In early 2007, the consumer finance industry of Japan was valued at a total of ? 0 trillion with annual growth of 4%. The key factor influencing this previous growth in the industry might be traced to the equity and real estate bubble burst in the early 1990’s which lowered the collateral of several consumers. This provided a large market segment seeking uncollaterized loans, which were only provided by the consumer finance companies. At the same time, consumer finance companies had an advantage over the banks as they had a wider network of loan offices and had a reputation for quicker loan approval. 3. Japan – Regulatory elimination of ‘grey zone’ lending Significant change is expected in the consumer finance sector of Japan, as new regulations affecting consumer finance companies were passed in December 2006, and are to be withheld by the year 2009. The main crux of the new regulation would be that it lowers that maximum allowed interest rate chargeable on uncollaterized consumers. While the interest rate cap on consumer loans were capped at 20% by the Interest Rate Restriction law, the Capital Subscription law stated that a rate of 29. 9% could be charged, in the event that a written consent to the charges was provided by the consumer.

Due to this law, several consumer finance companies in Japan have been providing loans to poor credit clients, at interest rates charged within the ‘grey zone’ (20%-29. 9%). What this new legislation entails would be that these consumer finance companies will need to adapt and reinvent themselves, as they can no longer depend on the ‘grey zone for survival’. What can be expected would be shakeout of the smaller consumer finance companies, consolidation as well as diversification of products. 3. 2 Japan – Regulatory Changes The Japanese Diet revised legislation regarding the Money Lending Business (MLB) law. A previous ceiling of 29. % for consumer loan interest rates set by the Capital Subscription law was repealed and reduced to 20%. This coincides with the ceiling set by the Interest Rates Restriction law, which has an interest rate cap of 20% per annum for such loans. Even then, this cap is only applicable for loans of up to ? 100,000 and below. For loans with principal amounts ranging between ? 100,000 and ? 1,000,000, the cap is only 18% per annum. Loans with principal amounts over ? 1,000,000 are charged a maximum interest rate of 15% per annum. At the same time, the Bank of Japan has in recent years opted to abandon their zero-interest rate policy.

At the moment, their interest rates have been set at 0. 5%. It is yet to be seen if there will be any increase in this rate, as it will probably depend on the performance of the Japanese economy as it adapts to this change, as well as the USA downturn. But essentially, with the bottom line raised and the top lines lowered, consumer finance companies are seeing their margins diminishing. The amendment also includes tighter entry restrictions for consumer finance companies, return of excess interest payments made to consumers, as well as restricts the maximum debt a consumer may hold to only one-third of his annual income.

At the same time, the lid has been left open for more restrictions to be implemented between now and 2009, during which enforcement for the new regulation is going to be implemented. 3. 3 Japan – Effects on Performance In response to the new legislation, the industry has been suffering since. An estimated loss for the combined consumer loan sector for the fiscal year of 2006 has been made at ? 3 trillion. This can be directly attributed to the diminished market segment as well as several requests for refunds of excess loans from existing consumers.

With stock prices of the 4 major players in the industry tumbling even before the announcement of the December 2006 ruling, mostly as a pre-emptive reaction, the situation is dire. This has left the consumer finance companies with the option of either leaving the market, or restructuring themselves to suit the new environment. The two main strategies for remaining in the sector would be expansion and diversification. 3. 4 Japan – Expansion At moment, there is estimated total of 10,000 registered money-lenders in Japan. Of these, there are only 4 major players (Aiful Corp. , Acom Co. , Promise Co. Takefuji Corp. ) that are currently listed on the Japanese stock exchange, whilst the rest are all individually casting small shadows. However, considering the increased requirements for operations as well as the diminished margins, it is now harder to maintain operations as a small player. More sophisticated risk management and cost-cutting are all necessary aspects that need implementation for survival. It is expected that a large proportion of these smaller companies will eventually consolidate to be able to mount a substantial fight for survival or be forced to cease operations.

Current estimates are that the eventually, Japan will only be left with 3,000 consumer finance companies. Already, that trend is starting to take shape. The current estimate of 10,000 registered money lenders have already dwindled from a previous figure of 14,000 as of February 2007. Two of the larger players, Acom and Promise have also taken a step further than anyone else in the industry, by negotiating partnerships with major banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group respectively.

This strengthens their competitiveness, as these consumer finance companies will be able to provide the bank with their expertise in handling smaller and riskier consumer loans, whilst the banks will be able to support these companies as they transcend into a more developed state. 3. 5 Japan – Diversification of Products Traditionally, the Japanese consumer finance companies could be classified into two main group; those dealing in consumer loans; and those providing credit card services. While the former group has been hit hard directly by the new regulation, the latter has been relatively unscathed.

The main reason would be that interest rates for credit cards were already below the 20% limitation. Consumer finance companies are now finding that there is an unexplored market that they can now explore, to make up for their losses in the consumer loan segment. To compound incentives for this strategy, the credit market has yet to truly blossom in Japan yet, due to a prior preference for cash instead. For example, credit card shopping only accounts for 10% of consumption in Japan, and this is relative to the 25% figure for the United States. 3Finance companies in USA

There are many companies in the USA which provide consumer and business finance services in all sectors of the financial markets. Being the world’s largest financial market, USA has a very diverse group of finance companies that cater to auto, personal, small enterprise, insurance, and mortgage lending, among others. Citi Financial, HSBC Finance, GE Money, Prudential Finance, Zurich Financial, and Capital One are just a few examples of such finance companies. Just as in Singapore and other nations, these finance companies typically serve clients who are either too small or have poor credit ratings to obtain loans from the larger banks.

The consumer finance industry in the USA is too large to be discussed in full detail in this report. Hence we will only be discussing a particular type of finance company which in the past year has come under scrutiny from all corners of the financial markets – subprime mortgage lenders. While major commercial and investment banks have all taken in losses amounting to USD 170b from writing down Colleteralized Debt Obligations and Mortgage Backed Securities, mortgage finance companies in the USA have mostly been responsible for the origination of such losses. 3. 1 USA – Subprime mortgage lending by finance companies

Subprime mortgage lending by finance companies enabled consumers in the USA with poor credit histories to obtain loans to purchase homes with higher interest rates than that charged by banks. These consumers were previously unable to obtain such loans from the major banks and lenders due to their poor credit histories. To entice consumers to accept such higher interest rates, these finance companies typically include ‘teaser rates’ during the initial periods of the loan where the interest rates were lower, and the rates were then subsequently increased significantly after the introductory period.

Because many consumers could no longer afford the high interest payments after the introductory period, many were forced to refinance their subprime loans with another subprime loan. This was acceptable pre-2005 since housing prices were on the rise, and this meant that home owners were building equity which enabled them to refinance loans easily. However, after 2005, home prices started to decline and fell below the value of the loan, and thus could not be used as collateral for refinancing.

A steep rise in defaults and foreclosures caused more than 100 finance companies in the US to file for bankruptcy beginning late 2006. Even New Century Financial Corporation, then the nation’s second largest mortgage lender, was not spared. Excessive risk taking and making loans to subprime customers meant that such finance companies were exposing themselves to moral hazard excessively. 3. 2 USA – Securitization of subprime loans Many a subprime finance company did not actually hold on to the subprime loans as assets after making them. Instead they securitized, or sold off the loans to issuers and special purpose vehicles.

These financial vehicles bought these loans and other investment grade instruments and repackaged them into the CDOs and MBSes that were to blame for the credit problems in financial markets today. These instruments were subsequently bought up by investment and commercial banks, and hedge funds, due to the impression that the risk from the subprime loans have been adequately spread out. However, this was not the case, since once defaults and foreclosures started to hit the issuers, the values of the CDOs were compromised, resulting in huge write downs by banks.

What followed was a large credit crunch in financial markets, the effects of which are still unresolved today. Hence, what was supposed to be a mortgage finance sector problem has been spread to all areas of the financial markets through loans securitization, which was started by finance companies in the US. Regulatory Issues The Finance Companies Act (Cap. 108) was established in 1967 to regulate the growing finance companies sector. Listed in the Act are several restrictions that limit the activities of the finance companies.

The purpose of these limitations is to protect investors, by controlling the exposure of the company to riskier asset classes and transactions, since finance companies are less able to diversify such risks away than the major banks. These limitations may include capital structure requirements, restrictions on dealings, necessary approval for expansion and others as well. In essence, the provisions within the Finance Companies Act require that finance companies seek MAS for approval to engage in activities other than the most basic lending and depositing services.

Since the major banks have a similar set of banking rules and regulations to adhere to, we will be focusing our discussion on a few key regulatory provisions which are specific to the Finance Companies Act. One regulation of particular interest has already been briefly mentioned in the previous sections of this report. In s7 of the Finance Company Act, there are strict capital requirements in place for finance companies. S7 provides that a registered finance company will need a minimum of $50 million in issued and paid up capital. What this requirement does is to limit the industry to only the stronger players.

This requirement, as put in place since January 1995, might be responsible for the running out of the several smaller finance companies, and serves as well as a substantially high barrier to entry. S23 of the Finance Companies Act lists out some of the prohibitions of dealings by finance companies. In particular, s23(1)(e) and (f) aims to limit the amount of risk which the finance companies are able to take. This is done by restricting the issuance of substantial loans which exceed 50% of their total credit facilities, and also by prohibiting unsecured loans and advances exceeding S$5,000.

It can be seen from these regulations that MAS understands the higher risk nature of the customers served by finance companies, and tries to protect both the customers and the companies from over-exposure to such risks. While s23(1)(b) prevents investments in foreign currency, gold and other precious metals, and s23(1)(c) prevents any acquisition of shares, stock, debt and other convertible securities in foreign denominations, exemption from these restrictions might be granted as stated under s23(2)(a)&(b).

S23(2)(a)&(b) states would be that concessions in these aspects might be granted depending on the ruling of MAS. Furthermore, s53 gives room for the authorities to exempt a finance company for some or all of the provisions in the Act. We feel that this shows that MAS recognizes that not all finance companies are ready to take on such dealings yet, but that they are not shutting the door on such transactions in the future. Prospects & Future developments of Finance Companies Effects of the credit crunch In the short run, we would expect that finance companies would experience a udden growth in their revenue segments due to commercial banks tightening credit. The sub-prime meltdown in the United States has severe implications for all industries. However, rather than affecting the finance companies negatively, we foresee that there is a possibility that they might profit from it instead. With several banks being hit severely, we are currently observing the beginnings of a credit crunch as banks start to tighten their credit and adopting a more conservative stance in negotiating loans.

This would even be true in Singapore, as we uncover the extent of Asian banks exposure to collateralized debt obligations. DBS Bank has already booked S$200 million worth of write-downs while UOB has S$45 million worth of write-down. These commercial banks have reportedly tightened credit measures with more reluctance to take on risky debts. What this might imply would be that more consumers will have their loan applications rejected from banks, and will therefore look to finance companies for their capital needs instead. At the same time, the market for loans is expected to grow by 13% in 2008.

While this is lower than the 20% growth recorded in 2007, it represents that the market is still expanding despite the tightening of credit by major lenders. At the moment, the total loans made by finance companies are sitting at S$8,389 million. The total loans made by commercial banks, however, stands at S$201,424 million. The above figures indicate that if banks were to lose even a small percentage of their market share in loans to finance companies, this would translate to a potentially significant percentage of loans growth for these finance companies.

Hence, if finance companies are able to take advantage of the loss in confidence of the banks, and the tightening of credit by said banks to capture the market left behind by the banks in the wake of the sub-prime crisis, there will be room for growth. Consolidation of the segment In the long run however, we adopt a more pessimistic stance towards the development of finance companies. One of the trends that we mentioned was that of consolidation of the finance companies in the past decade.

Three such finance companies remain and have performed relatively well over the past few years or so. However, commercial banks are encroaching into traditional strongholds of these finance companies, such as SMEs and smaller personal loans which were once considered unprofitable to service. This is as commercial banks now want to profit from the higher yielding consumer base that these finance companies rely on as they continue to look into other profitable segments that they have neglected in the past.

DBS, OCBC and UOB have in the past decade started moving towards these opportunities that they had forgone in the past. There is also increased competition from new entrants such as GE Money and SingPost who now offer consumers more consumer finance choices instead of the remaining 3 finance companies. This increased competition may reduce revenues in the future, especially for Singapura Finance and Sing Investments, since Hong Leong is far and away the major player in this sector and may be able to better cope with these changes.

These 2 smaller firms might find it more difficult to continue to perform as well when banks use their financial muscle and influence to try and break into this market. Thus, we foresee a real possibility of further consolidation and perhaps a change in the structure of the future finance company here in Singapore. Hong Leong Finance is special, in the sense that it is much bigger than the other finance companies in the scene. To brand it as a finance company in the same breath as the other 2 does not do Hong Leong’s reputation justice.

However, when compared to the commercial banks, they still do not measure up as significant competition. The other 2 finance companies seem to stand little chance should the commercial banks and corporations start infringing on this niche segment that they have survived on. The implications of these is the sign that the finance companies are in a sunset industry and with the exception of Hong Leong, finance companies might struggle to eke out an existence once competition gets more intense.

It may revert to a situation where the smaller firms have to merge or be acquired by a larger finance company, in this case, Hong Leong, or risk not being able to survive in the segment. Hong Leong, as mentioned, is unique in the sense that it is such a dominant force in the finance company sector, but yet unable to make the step up to be on the same level as even the smaller commercial banks. In the near future, we could see Hong Leong forming an entire classification on its own, as the alternative to the commercial banks.

Following the entry of commercial banks and other competitors into its traditional revenue segments, Hong Leong has been actively looking for other opportunities to diversify its revenue generating segments. We have mentioned some of these earlier in the report. Recently, Hong Leong was commissioned to take up underwriting duties which provides it with a new area of development where they could vary their income sources. It has also established a wealth management arm in light of the growing sector in Asia as a whole.

Business and trade are regarded as the oldest professions individuals adopted centuries ago in order to earn their livelihood. At that time, the trading used to be in form of exchanging goods which is also known as barter system but later on due to introduction of currencies in different countries the concept of barter system was taken over by the current system which is being followed till today that involves money or the paper money in selling of the goods. Due to introduction of currency notes, trade between countries expanded as it became easier and convenient to carry out business transactions (Lukeman, 2008, p. 118)

With currencies being introduced by every single trading nation for the purpose of strengthening their economic structure and to promote trade, the need for banks or financial institutions was realized and that was the point from where the banks or the financial institutions began to take shape. Initially banks acted as single purpose entity for assisting people in depositing their money but later on they began acting as loan providers for people who needed money for different purposes (Neill, 2007, p. 10).

Today, the banking systems are the back bone of the economy of any country as they hold all the monetary/financial reserves of a country. Countries in order to keep their economies strong and GDP higher tend to keep their reserves in a higher volume where as countries that are often under developed have poor economic situation due to lack of sufficient funds in their banking reserves. Banks are basically service providers and in order to provide effective and efficient services to their clients they keep on coming up with new and more efficient plans to cater the needs of their clients.

Sometimes those services are easy car financing and on other occasions banks assist in house financing and house loans. One of the way banks are satisfying their customers/clients is by offering them the facility of debit and credit cards due to which the clients need not to carry money with them while going out for shopping or any other occasion. This concept is known as plastic money in current scenario which has received ample success all over the world.

Hence, credit and debit cards remain as a convenience for the clients which are basically offered by the banks. Citibank and its launching of Credit Cards in Asia Pacific Region It was in year 1989 when the head of Citibank Asia consumer bank, Mr. Rana Talwar realized that the performance of Citibank in Asia had been pretty much convincing and worth satisfaction for the bank and wondered that some new advancements must be made in terms of new revenue streams so that the bank performance could be enhanced.

Therefore he realized that just like credit card system has been so successful in United States as well as in European countries, similarly credit cards system can be introduced and launched in Asia pacific region so that higher revenue must be generated and the potential clients in the Asia Pacific region would be catered in an effective manner. It was also realized that Asia Pacific & Middle east region has big market for credit card system and can be fruitful for the bank to launch this plan but at the same time with lack of technology there are high chances of bank facing losses due to money frauds and other similar scams.

Success & Failures of Citibank in Launching Credit Cards Success and failures are part of any venture and it is effort of every business entrepreneur or the manager to make sure that business heads towards the right direction that guarantees success and not the failure. Citibank in its launching of Credit cards system in Asia Pacific has made both some right and wrong choices in launching the credit card plan. In terms of success, there is a high chance and probability for Citibank to explore the large market segment of Asia Pacific region which includes prosperous nations like Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Hong Kong.

All these countries are economically sound nations and launching credit card systems in these regions would definitely give boom to the profit/revenue stream for the Citibank. Apart from this, Citibank has the clear idea of how to launch credit cards in the Asia Pacific region either by taking over any existing credit card business in the region or to launch their own system which would be expensive but would ensure fine results. This clearly showed that the direction of launching the credit card system in Asia Pacific has been correct.

With two most fine methods available to penetrate into regional countries and their market, Citibank has an advantage which leads towards a sound response for the bank in terms of its launch of credit cards system. The failure of Citibank with regards to Credit card system is that the bank has decided to penetrate into so many countries at a time which can cause so much trouble for the bank. Launching of credit cards is obviously a big step and a lot many financial resources are involved in that venture. It sure can be a risk for the bank in taking such big step hence this can be regarded as a failure.

The other reason is that Asia Pacific region is not that stable as compared to Western and European countries and launching credit card system would be a risk which can create fraud and other losses for the bank. Infrastructure for the credit card system is another cost involved for Citibank which can’t be accounted in success for the bank. In order to operate and manage credit card system, Citibank would definitely need well qualified employees which would be pretty difficult to hire in Asia Pacific region.

The other failure with the credit card system for Citibank in Asia Pacific region is that the region comprises of people of different religions i. e. Muslims, Christians and Buddhists and catering needs of the 3 segments might not be an easy job for the bank. Different religions have different perspectives yet it won’t be feasible enough for Citibank to launch the credit card system in Asia Pacific. Penetrating into saturated market of Singapore and Indonesia is another failure for Citibank Credit card system. Plans and recommendations Citibank management must consider as next step

As mentioned above, a plan has always some good as well as some bad points. Good points makes the decision maker go ahead and take the decision but due to the bad points, the decision maker has to think twice and reconsider the decision by giving a thorough look and analyzing what could possibly be the best for the business. In this case, Rana Talwar who has been the head of consumer banking in Asia Pacific region is considering the idea of launching credit card system for the entire region but the idea or the plan is surrounded by positive as well as negative aspects.

In order to get approval for this venture to take place and the credit card system to get official consent from the top management, all strong positive points of the credit card system and its benefits to the Citibank are to be highlighted so that a final approval for the plan is granted and the system of credit cards in Asia Pacific is launched. First and foremost thing which must be needed to be cleared is the assurance that the region of Asia Pacific has the potential to generate high revenues for the Citibank.

As every business is pretty much afraid of making an investment where there are less chances of harvesting more profits therefore it is clearly to be showed that the Asia Pacific region is full of potential and the credit card system would be a success and generate as much revenues for the Citibank as it is producing in US and other European Nations. The other thing which is to be clarified is that the Region of Asia Pacific has the right technology to support the new system of credit card and the bank would not end up making losses after the system of credit card has been launched.

As it has been suspected that Asia Pacific region is not compatible in terms of technology that is used in US and other European nations for the credit cards but it also needs to be mentioned that credit card technology has been working well in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia and the same technology can be used for Citibank credit cards. It also needs to be clarified that Asia Pacific region won’t be the region where the Bank ends up making losses but it would be getting hold of those clients who would be availing the credit card service of Citibank and ensure that they don’t end up being the bad debts for the bank.

Last but not the least, it also needs to be explained to the top management that the Bank if takes over any other credit card service that too can help the Citibank in getting started off with their campaign of credit card system furthermore if the Citibank aims for Greenfield marketing development even in that case the response would be in favor of Citibank. Therefore the move of launching Citibank credit cards must take a step forward so that clients could be facilitated and the bank too generates sufficient revenue.

Top tier Recommendations Recommendations play an important role in decision making and help the top management of any organization to review the situation and available options in a more thorough manner. If the recommendations are well and strong enough to support a case or a matter then they are often welcomed by the top management and considered to be implemented by the organization where as at times recommendations don’t really make much sense in sight of the top management due to which they are kept aside and are not implemented.

In terms of Citibank launching its credit card service in the Asia Pacific region, a strong set of recommendations would be required to convince the top management that the proposal of credit cards would not be a failure leading to the loss for the bank but instead would be a success and would bring in more revenues and clients for the bank from Asia Pacific region. First and foremost recommendation should be that the Citibank must come up with their own marketing plan to offer credit cards service to the clients in the different Asian Countries.

In this marketing plan, the Citibank can make the credit card offering into three types and that is golden card, silver card and platinum card. All these three cards will have different level of services ranging from different credit limits and the percentage imposed on the payment. The plan would be to promote the three types of credit cards in such a way that the difference of three credit cards can be easily recognized and everybody from the Asian countries considers availing the credit card service. In other words, the service of credit cards must look so affordable and attractive that instant action is taken for obtaining the service.

The other recommendation for the Citibank is to take over those credit card service companies that were already operating in the Asia Pacific region and become the sole entity to offer the credit services to the clients in the Asia Pacific region. Although this taking over scenario looks expensive venture but it is the quickest way to become the market leader and eliminate the competitors in the credit card industry. This can also help the business retain those precious clients that were already members of previous credit card service companies/banks and now have been provided service through Citibank.

New clients can also be acquired through this technique. Last recommendation in launching Citibank credit card service is to launch the service one by one in every Asian Pacific country. As Asia Pacific has different countries then the best option for the bank is to launch the credit card service one by one in each country so that the market can be captured easily and the clients all over the Asia Pacific regions becomes aware of the fact that Citibank has now started promoting their credit card services in different Asian Pacific countries.

Introduction of proper infrastructure for the purpose and safety of Credit card systems can also be brought into practice by Citibank credit card services to make sure that the transactions are being taken place in the right manner and furthermore no fraud is being done that can result in the loss for the bank. Such systems are primary requirement for a credit card service to be successful enough so that money frauds and scams can be totally eliminated. Conclusion:

In order to make the final judgment, a conclusion is required so that either a plan can be implemented or could be dumped as in not being in a position to be implemented. To conclude with this case of Citibank and its credit card service to be launched in Asia Pacific, the concept of launching the plan to begin with credit card service in Asia Pacific region sounds feasible and fruitful for the Citibank in present times and also in future. Due to such launch of the plan the bank would be in a better position to generate revenue which could result in better profitability ratio for the bank.

This could also create awareness in all those segments which were not aware of Citibank credit card service and can attract them in opting for credit card from Citibank. The bank can only offer credit card service to those potential clients that are financially sound enough to pay back the debt to the bank on time so that the bank doesn’t suffer and all those people would be granted loan who have a sound past record in clearing their debts with other banks. This can ensure the bank that loans or the credit money is given to those eligible people who are in position to clear off their debt.

The decision to approve or reject the plan would be directly linked to the top management of the Citibank and its headquarters in New York plus the country managers too would be linked in this loop to give their suggestions whether launching of credit cards in Asia Pacific would prove to be beneficial for the bank’s future or not. It could also be analyzed that as a benchmark that American Express and diners cards have been used in the Asia Pacific region for quite some time and both these cards had received much success in the region.

Due to their success the members were asked to pay joining fees as well as annual subscription fees too. Keeping such situation in mind, in can be considered that Citibank too can penetrate into the market with its credit card services by either taking over any of them or coming up with entire new strategy to give tough time to the competitors. Similarly, Citibank could launch its credit card scheme in different countries, one by one to observe the actual response which could help the bank either to put more efforts and thrust in to the market or to evacuate from the market in case the response turns out to be cold.

Overall suggestions for the Citibank remain in favor of launching the credit card service scheme into Asia Pacific region. Countries like Australia, Singapore, Malaysia all are economically sound nations and penetrating into their market would take some time to give the desired results but in long run it would help the bank lay strong foundation in the Asia Pacific region to have a larger pool of clients and operate successfully.

Be Our Guest, Inc. Case Analysis Page 1 INDEX 1. Key success factors & company performance………………………………………………….. 3 2. Bank perspective regarding the performance………………………………………………….. 7 3. Bank financing perspective at the end of 1998………………………………………………. 10 4. Management perspective regarding the bank financing…………………………………. 13 5. Exhibit 1 – Annual Income Statements (1994-1997)………………………………………17 6. Exhibit 2 – Annual Balance Sheets (1994-1997)…………………………………………….. 18 7. Exhibit 3 – Quarterly Income Statements 1997………………………………………………. 19 8. Exhibit 4 – Quarterly Balance Sheets 1997………………………………………………………20 9.

Exhibit 5 – Forecasting………………………………………………………………………………………21 10. Exhibit 6 – Annual Ratios…………………………………………………………………………………. 22 11. Exhibit 7 – Quarterly Ratios…………………………………………………………………………….. 23 Tudor Team Five Page 2 1. What are the key success factors in this equipment rental business? How has the company performed the past few years? Key Success Factors Five of the key success factors are as follows: First, the location of the business is ideal for handling several projects at once. This is due to their central Boston location. The ability to handle everal projects at once gives the company a competitive edge and allows them to attain a performance as close to the full potential of the company as possible. Second, the company’s leaders have been successful in networking to primary and secondary clients. This has aided in growing a business that is based on a foundation of good company/client relationships. These strong relationships have led to significant repeat customers as a strong basis of the company’s revenue. Fostering these relationships throughout the years of the company’s existence has also led to sustained revenue growth year after year.

This revenue growth is shown in the financials and, using the Compound Annual Growth Rate, it can be seen that this growth in revenue has been 14. 26% from 1994 to 1997. Third, the executive management is well experienced in the hospitality industry as well as other industries that relate to the successful operation of a business. Stephen Lizio was involved in the food and wine business prior to founding Be Our Guest in 1983. Al Lovata was previously a banker and began his relationship with Be Our Guest as a financial consultant, later joining the organization full-time as the Chief Executive Officer.

Lizio and Lovata together form a foundation of strong knowledge of the hospitality Tudor Team Five Page 3 business and the vital knowledge of finance, thus giving the business a core of understanding both its industry and how to manage the money coming into the company. Simone Williamson was brought on to the team and comes from years of experience in the food service business. She also came to the company with strong networking connections in the catering industry in Boston, which further reinforces the second success factor described above. This management team is made up of members that complement ach other’s strengths, as well as provide the necessary skill sets for running a successful business. The fourth key success factor is that the company identified its business plan early on and held its course throughout the years without deviation to business expansions that would have resulted in higher profits but fewer turnovers. This can be seen in the company’s analysis of the potential of The executive team determined that this entering the tent rental market. market, though highly profitable, would result in time delays and longer turnovers and would split their core business.

The team recognised that this split could result in lower profitability and splintering of the core business structure. Rather than expand into a low profit margin business “tents”, in which the management lacks market expertise, they chose to stick to their initial business plan and focus on their key strengths rather than deviate from the company’s set fundamentals. This example illustrates that the company followed its original business plan and complied with its mission and vision from the beginning without deviation. In doing so, the company built a strong foundation and upheld the strength of that foundation.

The fifth key success factor identified here is the high quality of service as well as the high quality of the rental equipment provided to clients. The executive team recognised early that they could compete in either price or Tudor Team Five Page 4 quality, and the team chose to compete in quality. Part of this high quality service is seen in the company’s dedication to its clients through its willingness to deliver only one table on short notice if a client is in need. Through high quality service, the company has upheld its networking connections to clients by building strong relationships.

This high quality service combined with high quality rental equipment products has allowed the company to obtain a competitive edge over its competition, keep that competitive advantage, and foster strong company/client relationships throughout the years. How has the company performed the past few years? Viewpoint – Independent perspective Be Our Guest, Inc. originated in 1983 and is still thriving in a very competitive and volatile industry 14 years later. Over the past few years the company has shown significant growth.

We see that Annual sales revenues have consistently risen from 1994 to 1997 with a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14. 26%. 1997 was an impressive year for the company with a 22. 7% increase in revenues. Gross Margins were very consistent year over year for 1994 through 1997. Gross margins for 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997 were 53. 9%, 49%, 52. 63% and 55. 5%, respectively. Be Our Guest, Inc. is doing a solid job of keeping the Costs of Revenue in line with the Sales Revenue. It is a positive sign to see this growth, because we can be assured that the company is staying competitive, while not completely giving in to the pricing crunch.

Annual Sales Revenue has a strong CAGR, but it is important and concerning to note that the CAGR of total Operating Expenses is higher. It is about 5% higher and this is very important, because Be Our Guest needs to stay in control of its expenses. Tudor Team Five Page 5 The high and increasing Operating expenses are cutting into the Operating margins, which also cuts into the bottom line. Be Our Guest’s balance sheet shows good signs of liquidity. Current Ratios for the past four years have remained above 1 proving that the company can handle its current liabilities. The current ratios are not extremely high (19941. 7, 1995- 2. 17, 1996- 1. 15 and 1997- 1. 16), but they can cover the current liabilities. It is important to note that the company is operating on a thin line because the current assets are barely covering the current liabilities. This is particularly unpleasant because we are dealing with a company operating in a seasonal business. It is a concern that the current ratio slightly eroded after 1995, and this is primarily due to Be Our Guest converting the bank line into long term debt in 1995. The current ratio in 1995 is an outlier, because 2. 17 do not accurately represent the company.

The quick ratio is the same as the current ratio for Be Our Guest because they do not have inventory for all of the rental equipment is under property and equipment. They display a good working capital position as well, which is another measure of liquidity. Cash position is a concern for we can see in 1994 and 1997 that they actually had an Overdraft, and for 1995 and 1996 cash is not very high. However, this company is in an industry that is more of a receivables business, so the cash position is not a high concern, especially given that it is covering the current liabilities.

Since this is a receivables business it is important to look at the Receivables Turnover ratio, and we find that this is quite consistent, however when comparing to the Payables Turnover ratio we see that they are paying out more quickly than they are receiving, which is a problem. In 1995 they are paying out twice on average before collecting. Be Our Guest needs to focus on getting its receivables in a more timely manner. Tudor Team Five Page 6 2. As the bank loan officer, Anne Granger, how would you view this company? What concerns might you have about the business and the lending elationship? What factors provide a source of comfort when considering the credit risk? Anne will look at Be Our Guest, Inc. with both an annual and quarterly perspective really focusing in on the company’s liquidity, leverage and how they will match up to the covenant ratios established. The company is liquid, but it is not extremely liquid. Be Our Guest, Inc. is barely covering the current liabilities, and from a banks perspective we would want to see that there are not any concerns in this area. If the company is to become insolvent, we want to be able to get our outstanding balance back.

We know that Q1 is the worst quarter for the company, and you can see that for Q1 1997 the company displays a current ratio of . 88, which is simply not good, and means that during that quarter they did not have the ability to pay all current liabilities, therefore having to access the line of credit during this quarter. Q1 is also the hardest month for this company to retain its receivables, which can sometimes be the cause for liquidity problems. The top line growth is great to see, especially in the competitive space that the company operates in, but we also need to examine the rest of the income statement.

It is concerning to see the Operating Profit Margin as well as the Interest Coverage Ratio declining year over year. Operating Profit Margin shrinking is a negative because it indicates that the company is not controlling its operating expenses. Interest Coverage Ratio is especially concerning because this ratio indicates the ease of paying the interest on the outstanding debt, and Be Our Guest, Inc. may struggle paying the interest down the road if the ratio continues to decline. Note that the company is currently fully capable of paying for the interest on an annual and quarterly Tudor Team Five

Page 7 basis, but the trend downward will be noticed. Be Our Guest, Inc. relies on debt to build the business as you can see from the long term debt to equity ratios. However, the ratios are fairly consistent and it drops down to . 43 in 1997. The company is more than capable to cover the interest of this debt as noted earlier. Cash Flow is being adversely affected due to the abnormally large increase (56%) in G during 1997. According to the footnote on page 4 of the case, a company the size of Be Our Guest should have G sales in 1997 closer to $565,718 rather than the $840,718 that was reported.

The bank will keep a particular eye on Cash Flow/Debt Service Ratio and Debt/Tangible Net Worth Ratio along with the bottom line, since the covenants include requirements regarding these. The covenants require the Cash Flow/Debt Service ratio to not be less than 1/25:1, and the company is in line with this covenant on an annual basis. However, the company does not satisfy this covenant when looking at the quarterly figures. Debt/Tangible Net Worth cannot be greater than 2. 00:1, and Be Our Guest, Inc. satisfies this covenant on an annual and quarterly basis.

According to the covenants, the company can’t incur two consecutive quarters of net losses; nor incur a net loss for any fiscal year. The company did incur a loss in Q1 1997, but followed with a strong Q2 net profit, so the company is in compliance with this covenant as well. Be Our Guest, Inc. is in a seasonal industry, which is a concern, but even more of a concern is the company’s inability to produce projections. We understand that projections may not be extremely accurate, but it is possible to project through the use of confidence intervals.

The bank becomes a little more comfortable with the seasonality because they feel that Al Lovata (former Banker) is aware of the risks associated and has a handle on them. Tudor Team Five Page 8 The balance sheet is decent, but it is not incredibly strong because it is barely covering the current liabilities. As a banker we would also be concerned about the customer makeup. Be Our Guest, Inc. relies heavily on two particular customers (Customer A and B), which make up over 21% of the company’s sales.

These two customers make up 1/5 of the company’s budget, and I would like to know if the company has any backup plans in case they lost either of these customers and has performed the due diligence required to make sure its major customers are not insolvency risks themselves. Other than these top two customers, it appears that the customer base is spread out appropriately. The strong covenants in place are a source of comfort for the bank. Not only do they have strong covenants, but the bank also has virtually all of the company’s assets pledged and the shareholders guarantee the loan.

Given that this is an S Corporation, the shareholders’ personal assets would be safe, but since these shareholders guaranteed the loan, the bank can go after the personal assets of the shareholders. Be Our Guest, Inc. is not a start-up company, and it has been in operation since 1983, so there is a level of comfort knowing that this company has been around for over 10 years and has been remotely successful during this time as well. It has great management in place who each contributes strong and complimentary experiences along with a level of expertise.

This company is focused and driven to provide the best service they can within the industry, and they have been rewarded for it with the 1997 Small Business Firm of the Year. While Be Our Guest may not be the greatest risk, there are provisions in place and aspects of the company that make Be Our Guest an acceptable risk for the bank. Tudor Team Five Page 9 3. How much total bank financing will the company need at the end of 1998, including both the short-term borrowing under the bank credit line and the outstanding amount of the term loan? For convenience, assume that 1998 sales are $3,000,000. ) In order to estimate how much total bank financing the company will need at the end of 1998, there are two possible ways of forecasting the financial results in terms of balance sheet and income statement. The analysis must take into account the highly unpredictable, seasonal nature of the business. Due to this seasonality, there is high level of uncertainty whichever forecasting method is applied. The first method is to estimate the future income statement based on a trend or horizontal analysis.

In this specific case, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for each item on the income statement was calculated for the years 1994-1997. With regards to revenue, $3,000,000 for 1998 was accounted for in the calculation. This analysis shows an increase in G due to the unusual increase in G the previous year (1996-1997) affecting the CAGR in 1998. Consequently, the income statement shows a loss in the Net Earnings when applying this method. The second method is to calculate the costs of revenue based on the percentage impact of each item of cost on the total revenue in 1997 (vertical analysis).

This analysis, according to us, seems more logical in itself and also leads to a much more positive outlook for 1998 (Net Earnings of $99,408). The result would be sustainable for the business. Two more steps are necessary to forecast the financing needs for the year 1998: Tudor Team Five Page 10 The first step is repayment of the line of credit for the short-term liabilities ($140,000+$3,498). The second step is better management of the seasonality, especially for quarters 1 and 4 which are the most risky quarters for the business.

Given that Net Earnings are around $68,096, the line of credit needs to cover the difference ($75,402). Taking into consideration the seasonality, calculated as operating cash flow (refer to case – covenants), there should be no liquidity problems year-end 1998. The cash flow available at the end of 1998 completely covers the losses in Q1 and Q4. The company should keep the line of credit, because debt is incurred upon the credit line only when used. The management, however, should only use the credit line when absolutely necessary.

Finally, the company should convert approximately $75,000 of the $140,000 of the line of credit into long-term debt because it will cost less in terms of interest. In addition, the company should increase the long-term debt accordingly (based on the strategy regarding future investments; see answer to question 4). Assuming that the long-term loan is amortised in a constant manner, with approximately 25% payoff per year as “current instalment of term note”, shown to be the same figure as 1997 ($75,268) which is calculated based on the term note payable less current instalment of $168,043 for 1998.

Tudor Team Five Page 11 Proposed here is a two-step approach for financing the investment: The first step is to obtain another long-term loan of $200,000 to change and improve the phone and IT systems. This will lead to a better position to judge the current market needs to revise and produce a strong strategy for the business in terms of efficiency, profitability and long-term outlook. Once this step is accomplished, by 1999, the company should obtain yet another long-term loan.

Regarding the possibility of an acquisition, if Be Our Guest makes an acquisition, it can do so through a leveraged-buyout. Therefore, taking on the debt of the company being acquired and funding the other part of the acquisition by selling part of the equity of Be Our Guest (Following the financial restructuring and the increase in efficiency the value of the stock will increase). Asking for a loan for an acquisition today would not be reasonable, nor is it likely that the bank would agree to issue the loan. Currently, the financial ratios of the company do not justify an acquisition.

Therefore, starting off with a smaller loan to improve the company running in terms of efficiency and infrastructure will be of greater value. In total the company should take the following long-term loans: $75,000 (line of credit converted into long-term loan) $200,000 (investment) $168,000 (outstanding long-term loan) Total long-term loans in the Balance Sheet by end of 1998: $443,000 As already mentioned before, the line of credit should remain available at the same level as before ($140,000) since it is only paid for if used (expected 1998: fully available).

Tudor Team Five Page 12 4. What should Al Lovata and Simone Williamson ask for when talking with the bank? If the company needs additional bank financing, should the increase be provided by an increase in the credit line, or should the size of the term loan be increased to meet the need? Should they ask for some relaxation or change in the loan covenants, particularly the personal guarantees that they have provided at the bank’s request? Al Lovata and Simone Wiliamson should approach Anne Granger in a confident way.

Be Our Guest’s balance sheet is fairly strong and fairly liquid, the income statement shows signs of growth and the company is generally doing well. Hence Be Our Guest can take a confident stand to discuss the covenants openly with the bank in order to reach some relaxation on the strict terms. They need to work with the bank to: *lower the rate *review the requirements of personal guarantees for the loan Be our Guest Inc. can consider the possibility of going to another bank if State Street holds their ground on these strict covenants

Considering the current and past status of the balance sheets and income statements it is realistic to assume that Be Our Guest, Inc. would not have much difficulty to find a new lender who would agree on different, more relaxed terms of covenants. The company mainly needs the line of credit to finance the seasonal effects of Q1, which could be reduced by a solid growth or expansion plan or merely revising the company’s HR strategy regarding the full-time staff during Q1. Tudor Team Five

Page 13 For example, they could reduce the staff’s hours, which would keep them on a full-time employment base but would reduce the G costs for this particular quarter; or they could put the full-time staff on a strategic rotation plan which incorporates the poor business of quarter 1 but leaves options in case of unexpected business in this time period which would also reduce the general G costs and still leave the company in a good position to handle short-term notice business.

Regarding the interest for outstanding borrowings on the credit line as well as the interest for the long-term loan, it has been reliably covered and there is no immediate reason to believe that this will change. Any future increase of the long-term loan to drive the growth of the company in terms of business expansion or increasing assets can only be interpreted in a positive way seeing that the revenues have shown to increase with all previous growth-measures.

State Street bank should recognise the company’s solid management foundations and the well-going business over the past years and keep their good standing with Be Our Guest, Inc. Lovata and Williamson want to be prepared for future growth. The way to growth has been identified in two possible options, completing an acquisition or expanding their product line. Both of these strategies need to be supported by a consistent long term plan in order to finance their investment needs.

Pertaining to this reason, for funding their growth they should ask the bank to extend their long term lend (clearly cheaper than a revolving credit) and moreover ask to re-negotiate the interest rate (too high especially to be a “prime rate”). Additionally each growth plan in the first few years needs patience and flexibility in terms of managing losses, therefore it would be crucial to review Tudor Team Five Page 14 at least part of the current covenants, like prohibiting two consecutive quarters of net losses and avoiding a net loss for any fiscal year.

Taking into account that they are in a good financial position and that the extra money they would need is for future expansions and growth of the company, refinancing its existing debt to obtain better terms, could be quite reasonable. Moreover the company has a fairly strong balance sheet and profitable growth, so it has plenty of bargaining power to negotiate a better deal with the bank. The only negative item is given by the decrease in the last 4 years of the “net income”, but again it is an issue suggested by a covenant (distribute more than 50% of the earnings to the principals).

It is probably the most useless and most dangerous of the list as it is leading the owners to distribute the profit thereby increasing the G costs. Definitely, another crucial aspect is about liquidity pain, especially for an already seasoned business as that of “Be Our Guest”. In this case they should consider converting some of their revolving credit to term debt (cheaper) making line of credit available, which is currently fully used (coherently to the 1998 expected cash position, answer 3).

In this sense the best deal for “Be Our Guest” might be to invest in a business that generates revenue during current slow seasons and eases the firm’s reliance on credit for working capital. Thus even if the tents business could be apparently external to the “Be Our Guest” business model this business expansion should be taken into consideration. It is not only a new source of profit but will also enable profits for the current business in the slow seasons (tents are mainly set off in the rainy and cold seasons like fall and winter).

However, they should be able to distinguish between long term debt and short term line of credit, using the first one for investments and the second one to manage liquidity pain periods. Tudor Team Five Page 15 Leaving aside its convenience in general, the nature of the long-term debt, makes the development of the financial plan easier by providing the exact future payment scheme. On the contrary the line of credit is extremely useful to manage liquidity pain periods but should be paid back quickly or converted in term loan.

Finally while refinanced bank loans for now may be adequate to finance the company, it may not be enough for future plans and therefore curb the expansion (current debt/tangible worth ratio is already higher than 1). They should consider a different way of raising funds e. g. from selling equity. Reviewing the personal guarantees is fundamental in order to attract new investor and to manage the company differently. Be Our Guest was created as a business idea and for many years ran more like a family business but now it is a profitable firm that should be managed in terms of efficiency and profitability.

This leads to two necessary actions: one by the State Bank, to get rid of the covenant including the personal guarantee of the loan by the management; and second by Be Our Guest, Inc. to review their company status. In terms of the State Bank, it will be essential to convince Anne Granger to remove the covenant regarding the guarantee for the long-term loan. From the point of view of the management of Be our Guest, Inc. they need to review their company status. Only when they successfully separate the business from the family-business approach on which terms Be Our Guest, Inc. as founded, they can attract future investors. Tudor Team Five Page 16 Exhibit 1 – Annual Income Statements (1994-1997) Tudor Team Five Page 17 Exhibit 2 – Annual Balance Sheets (1994-1997) Tudor Team Five Page 18 Exhibit 3 – Quarterly Income Statements 1997 Tudor Team Five Page 19 Exhibit 4 – Quarterly Balance Sheets 1997 Tudor Team Five Page 20 Exhibit 5 – Forecasting Tudor Team Five Page 21 Exhibit 6 – Annual Ratios Tudor Team Five Page 22 Exhibit 7 – Quarterly Ratios Tudor Team Five Page 23