The Bharatiya Mahila Bank, India's first state-owned bank for women, opened shop on Tuesday in seven cities. The one in Bangalore at Hudson Circle, next to the police station, caters mainly for women.
The under-construction ground floor is already buzzing with activity. The smell of fresh paint still lingers in the air here and the enthusiasm of women is infectious. In the first three days, the bank has opened 40 accounts and sanctioned five loans.
While men can open accounts and use it for regular banking, women get preference in the 80:20 ratio. The bank offers better interest on saving bank accounts, and gives loans to self-help groups, entrepreneurs and students at lower rates.
The Nav Rasoi scheme is rather unique. You can get a loan for a minimum of Rs 50,000 and a maximum of Rs 7 lakh to renovate your kitchen. It can be for civil work, purchase of electronic appliances, furniture and utensils and crockery, all at the attractive interest of 2.5% over the base rate. However, there are no takers yet for it at the Bangalore branch.
"There's not much awareness yet about this scheme. The challenge for us would be to compete with established banks. But women will certainly be attracted to this bank. This is the first time that I'm seeing so many women walk into a bank. Customers in other banks are usually men. We already have self-help groups and NGOs walking in," said chief manager Jyothilakshmi V G.
Women like Prabha G B, who runs two beauty parlours in the city, are thrilled about it. "I wanted to renovate my beauty clinic and it's much easier to convince officials here about out business. They understand it better," she said.
Agrees Rathi M Sahana, an entrepreneur who runs an export business: "There's a popular belief that men are better at business. They can convince people faster and sometimes use authority. Many women entrepreneurs are not aware of the benefits and easily get discouraged when they're turned back. Interacting with women here and explaining our requirements is easy." The branch has sanctioned loans for two self-help groups and an education loan.
Of the seven employees, only one is a man. Asked what it feels like to work here, Bhupathi Nial from Odisha smiled gently: "I'm proud to be part of this bank which will empower the other half of India."
For a country with only 26% of women having bank accounts, this branch will surely infuse a sense of empowerment.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Banking-for-women-by-women/articleshow/26170777.cms
