재판관: 은행 부채 수집가는 불한당 같이 행동했다

Ashling O' Connor

Tapan Bose가 인도에 있는 가장 큰 상업 은행에 그의 자동차 융자 반제에 뒤에 내릴 때 그는 그의 연타한 두개골에 있는 12의 스티치를 요구해 그의 친구의 아들을 넣어둘 것이라는 점을 알고 있을 수 없었다.

Bose 씨는 국가의 악명 높은 빚 수집가의 갱 에의한 그가 클럽 안쪽에 이었기 때문에 맹렬한 매질을 도주해 그들이 올 때 ICICI 은행에 빚지고있을 34,000 루피 (£400)를 요구할. Instead, it was 21-year-old Vinod Kumar who was sitting in Mr Bose’s car, waiting for his father and his friend to emerge. Three men dragged him out and beat him with iron rods before seizing the car. He was in hospital for a fortnight with severe head and back injuries.

This week a Delhi judge condemned the savage attack carried out in the name of ICICI and fined the bank 550,000 rupees in a landmark case that comes as India’s banking regulator tries to reform the nascent debt-collection industry. The behaviour of rogue agents is of increasing concern in India, where the credit culture is new and interest rates are rising.

“No civilised society governed by the rule of law can brook such kind of conduct,” Justice J. D. Kapoor, the President of the Consumer Commission, said. Handing down the biggest fine yet in a consumer case, he said that the bank had allowed the agents to behave like robbers.

This is the first time that an Indian bank has been held accountable for the actions of third-party agents appointed to collect bad debts. In its defence, ICICI argued that it had not sanctioned any criminal conduct. It has since sacked the collection manager of the branch who appointed the agents and two men have been arrested by police. The bank was ordered to pay Mr Bose, a 42-year-old builder, 5,000 rupees’ compensation, write off the loan and deposit 50,000 rupees into a consumer welfare fund for court costs. ICICI said that it would abide by the judgment.

The economic boom in India has led to a surge in earnings and consumer aspirations. Commercial lenders have been quick to offer easy finance for homes, cars and other big purchases previously out of reach for most Indians. Banks have been accused of employing aggressive tactics, such as persistent cold calling, to win new business with little regard to a potential customer’s credit risk.

“In order to make more profits, these banks attract people who cannot afford a two-wheeler and encourage them to buy a four-wheeler,” Prashant Mehendiratta, Mr Bose’s lawyer, told The Times. “This is OK for most salaried employees but the cash income of the lower middle classes fluctuates. They don’t understand that it is easy to get a card but harder to pay it off.”

With the number of defaulters on the rise, Indian banks have come under pressure to collect more loans to protect their credit ratings. This has led to the outsourcing of the task to agents, who can employ thuggish tactics to earn their commission.

In some cases, the intimidation has had tragic consequences. Prakash Sarvankar, a father of three, hanged himself in Bombay two months ago because he was unable to repay a 50,000-rupee ICICI loan. In his suicide note he blamed the agents for threatening him and his family. The bank eventually agreed to pay 15,000 rupees compensation.

Borrowing ideas

— The Indian loan market has grown 11-fold in the past five years, partly because of aggressive marketing

— HSBC India advertises its personal loans for “when expenses arise, like your daughter’s marriage, furnishing your home or a family holiday”

— The bank claims that it is “just like borrowing money from a friend”

Sources: HSBC, agencies

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