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BANKS' NEW FOUND LOVE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS

Whether or not the Month of the Senior Citizens' has accrued any benefits to them, May has definitely proved a good month for those over 60, thanks to the banking industry's new found love for them.

Many banks here have launched or will soon announce new schemes for senior citizens, though such initiatives might not have anything to do with the event, but thanks to a recent Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directive.

Bankers say they are giving a lot of importance to senior citizens not just because they form a major chunk of their customer base, and the volumes of deposits that accrues from that segment.

"Senior citizens are an important focus segment of our customers. They are good ambassadors for new customer base," says P C Narayan, president IT and retail banking, Global Trust Bank.

"We have always toyed with giving something special to senior citizens, but we weren't permitted to discriminate our customer segments. But, with the RBI directive in Monetary and Credit Policy 2001-2002 clearing it, we are keen on providing special benefits," he says.

The Global Trust Bank has launched "Pranaam," a new deposit scheme that entitles the elderly to a higher interest rate on deposits ranging from 15 days to 10 years - 0.6 per cent more than the normal fixed deposit scheme. The bank is also offering those availing the scheme a chance to open a savings account with no minimum balance stipulation, besides a host of services such as access to ATMs, phone and Internet banking, and three free personal demand drafts per month.

The scheme has been well received, he claims, adding that a week since the launch on 16 May, GTB has got deposits worth a crore rupees in 2-3 branches alone.

"We have in fact branded our scheme because we can't afford not to focus on a segment that forms 15 per cent of total customer base," Narayan says. But then, they are also a very loyal segment and tend to be good spokespersons in case they are impressed with the good services, so they become our brand ambassadors," he adds.

"Senior citizens need to be given that important. They have worked in good positions earlier and like to be treated well, and we give them that importance," says A L Nageshwar Rao, GM, Andhra Bank, which is offering 0.5 per cent additional interest rate over the normal rates for the elderly for deposits from May 11.

In fact, 20 to 30 per cent of our deposits are by the elderly, and a lot of pensions are issued through us, therefore we provide them special support and customer care. We have exclusive senior citizens counters, he adds.

A host of other banks have also announced similar schemes. The Bank of Baroda is offering 0.5 additional interest on domestic term deposits from May 15. The concept is that interest is the only source of income for most of these elderly, so additional rates help them in view of the inflation and rising cost of loving, says P L Shah, head of AP region.

The State Bank of Hyderabad has also got an enthusiastic response to its special deposit scheme for the elderly -- 0.5 per cent additional interest rate over the normal on fixed deposits. The Gunfoundry branch alone has got over Rs 10 lakh worth deposits since it's launch on May 10, says B N Ramaiah, DGM.

Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait too has announced similar hike in interest rates for the aged, while ICICI Bank is soon to announce a package for the elderly.