Retail Finance - Collection agents

Barking at the wrong guy
Time was when they chased all and sundry to force unsolicted credit cards, loans and what not on them. These are indeed bad times. And, the retail finance people such as Citibank, HDFC, ICICI and the like are still engaged in the chasing game. This time around, however, they are chasing the borrowers. They do it not to lend fresh money, though. They are pursuing the borrowers to ensure that they get their money back and in time. Well, this chasing game has, of late, become a huge irritation. Borrowers are bugged with calls after calls from collection agents. More often than not, the caller from the collection centre would would say he was just reminding a borrower of the payment due date. Have you paid the money? Did you pay in cash or cheque? When did you pay? What is the cheque number? Where did you deposit the cheque? Well, the caller would, like a pre-recorded machine, reel out questions. Invariably the borrower would get the calls at wrong times and while in wrong places. On a day, he or she could end up attending `n' number of calls from different collection guys, who pursue the borrower independently! If they are so good at collecting the money back, why is their NPA (non-performing asset) is going up and up only? Well, the collection guys are good at intimidating the `paying customers' and their bullying tactics often fail to work with the defaulting borrowers. Time the stopped bugging the genuine borrowers.

Satyam Episode

A Satyam Survives

Satyam survives! It was an happy end. Tech Mahindra needs to be applauded for winning the bid to takeover Satyam. Given his background, Anand Mahindra will surely drive Satyam to the right path and ultimately to right destination. Having said that, I am just struck by the speed with which the Satyam episode was handled. I couldn't recollect any single incident in which the agencies acted in unison and in such a quick way. Corporate India is replete with cases where jobs were axed and plants shut down. The authorities never shown the same sense of urgency and keenness in ealier instances (where closures were primarily due to business reasons) as they did in the fraud-hit Satyam case. One gets the feeling that somewhere along the sale of Satyam was expediated in the guise of saving jobs. While doing so, they have succeeded in sweeping under carpet the financial shenanigans of the worst kind seen in Indian corporate history. The sale appears to have covered up the misdeeds of very many players in this entire episode. As days go by, the (a)Satyam in this corporate chapter will be forgotten.