The Reserve Bank came across instances of lenders resorting to certain unfair practices in charging of interest. Some of the unfair practices observed are briefly explained below:
- Charging of interest from the date of sanction of loan or date of execution of loan agreement and not from the date of actual disbursement of the funds to the customer. Similarly, in the case of loans being disbursed by cheque, instances were observed where interest was charged from the date of the cheque whereas the cheque was handed over to the customer several days later.
- In the case of disbursal or repayment of loans during the course of the month, some REs were charging interest for the entire month, rather than charging interest only for the period for which the loan was outstanding.
- In some cases, it was observed that REs were collecting one or more instalments in advance but reckoning the full loan amount for charging interest.
Therefore, in the interest of fairness and transparency, all REs are directed to review their practices regarding mode of disbursal of loans, application of interest and other charges and take corrective action, including system level changes, as may be necessary, to address the issues highlighted above.
