Looking For Quick Cash? Get A Personal Loan Against Fixed Deposit

Managing liquidity is an important aspect of personal finance planning. Even individuals with good investment portfolios find it difficult to manage liquidity. A sudden requirement of cash can push one into a situation where he/she may have to sell assets, sometimes at a discount to fair value. However, if smartly used, the traditional bank fixed deposits can come to your rescue. Banks offer personal loans against bank fixed deposits and you can raise short-term money without breaking your fixed deposits.

Another advantage that the borrower enjoys is the low interest rate, compared to other personal loans. Most banks offer personal loans at an interest rate ranging between 16% and 24%. But a personal loan taken against a fixed deposit ensures that you pay just 1% more than the rate of interest payable by the bank on the fixed deposit.

For example, if a bank pays 9% interest on a three-year fixed deposit, the rate of interest payable on the personal loan raised against it will be 10%. This saves a lot of money that you would have paid as interest, had it been a traditional personal loan, backed by no security.

Personal loan against a bank fixed deposit is easy to obtain and the process generally takes less than one day. An individual has to submit the application form duly filled, along with fixed deposit receipts and other documents, such as pledge/lien letter and overdraft agreement as notified by the bank. There is no prepayment penalty charged by the bank on the repayment of personal loans against fixed deposit. Banks do charge a small processing fee while providing this loan. But if you have a long-standing relationship with the bank, it may choose to waive half the fee.

Banks generally offer 90% of the value of the fixed deposit. For instance, if you have made a fixed deposit with a bank just one month ago, the bank will be offering you a personal loan to the extent of 90% of the amount you have invested. If the fixed deposit has already run for two years, the bank will be comfortable to lend you a bit more money than the amount you invested as some interest has been accrued on it over the past two years. Simply put, the amount of loan offered against a fixed deposit will be closer to 90% of the value of the fixed deposit. If the borrower fails to service the loan, the bank has the right to foreclose the fixed deposit to recover the money it has lent. This also means that the tenure of the personal loan given against the bank’s fixed deposit cannot exceed the residual tenure of the fixed deposit.

Banks also offer overdraft facility against such fixed deposits. This enables borrowers to have access to liquidity. A borrower can use funds for a short period of time and repay the money much before the due date. In this way, he pays interest only for the time he has availed the cash from the bank.

For example, an individual has a fixed deposit of Rs 1 lakh. The bank’s approved credit limit is Rs 90,000 against the FD and the tenure is 15 months. If the person draws Rs 50,000 on the 1st of the month and then repays the money on 17th of the same month, he is supposed to pay the interest on Rs 50,000 availed for 17 days.

However, when you take a loan against a fixed deposit, it should be free from lien or encumbrance, and the deposit should not be in a minor’s name. If this deposit is made under joint names, say a husband and a wife, all holders of the deposit have to execute the loan documents. The liability to repay the loan will lie with all holders of the deposit. The deposit holders will continue to receive interest on the underlying deposit. However, they need to service the EMI on the loan against the deposit.

A personal loan against fixed deposit can help you in times of liquidity crunch. But you should be looking at it as a means to raise short-term money. If you go overboard with a personal loan against fixed deposit and cannot repay on time, you stand to lose your bank fixed deposit as the bank forecloses that fixed deposit to recover the money it has lent. Also, it shows in your credit report, popularly known as the CIBIL report. Such default can pull your CIBIL scores down. Therefore, when you are raising personal loan against bank fixed deposit, do it responsibly.

About the author: Rajiv Raj is the Director and Co-founder of www.creditvidya.com.