AMIDST calls for an overhaul of and more prudential lending system, including disciplining of or doing away with private agencies from loan syndication process, leading private sector lender HDFC Bank, which aggressively employs private agents for asset sales, on Thursday said it has no plans to discontinue their services.

"We have no plans to discontinue the services of our agents (DSAs) for loan syndication," Aditya Puri, who is the managing director of the country's second largest private sector lender, said on Thursday.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a press conference to announce the twoday Bancon 2010.

The bank's parent HDFC said it continues to use private agents for attracting retail deposits and not for corporate sales or retail asset sales.

Puri's statement comes amidst reports that some public sector banks are planning to discontinue services of financial intermediaries from their corporate loan syndication process and also to do way with the services of even direct sales agents (DSAs), who are normally employed to sell retain loans, credit and debit cards, after recent loan bribery scam.

Last week, CBI had arrested eight officials of banks and financial institutions for either allegedly taking bribes from the city-based financial agent Money Matters Fin Services, or for leaking vital information to arrange loans for big realtors.

Most government-owned banks such as SBI, IDBI Bank, Uco Bank, Union Bank and Syndicate Bank do not employ private agents, while a few like Corp Bank, Central Bank, PNB, Bank of India, Canara Bank employ them to sell corporate loans. While SBI and IDBI Bank have their own loan syndication divisions, Uco Bank and Union Bank of India are reportedly setting up specialised divisions for this.

 Source :- mydigitalfc