Blacklisting of banks by UK to hit students, co-op banks

Hyderabad, Oct. 28: 

Students aspiring to study in the UK are likely to face hardships due to blacklisting of about 1,950 Indian banks by the UK Border Agency for visa-related purposes.

Most of the blacklisted banks are cooperatives located in rural and semi urban areas.

The parents of students hailing from rural and semi-urban areas have a tendency to maintain accounts in cooperative banks, this will hit them, say experts.

“Now, the students applying for visas will have to rely on a handful of banks in which they may not operate accounts,'' Ms Sridevi, a senior functionary of Visu International Ltd, an agency which offers consultancy in admissions abroad and visa process.

The visa applicants will have to attach a financial statement for the purpose of verifying applicants' maintenance funds under Tier 4 of the points-based system.

The UK Border Agency maintains a list of financial institutions in some countries that do not satisfactorily verify financial statements. This is the

first time that a large number of Indian banks have been included in this.

The blacklisting has come at a time when students gear up for visas. The semester-based admission season in the UK universities generally takes place in September and January.

The UK is the second major destination for Indian students after the US for courses in sciences, engineering and management.

According to data available with leading consultancies, in 2009 UK had granted about 34,000 students visas which had gone up to over 50,000 in 2010.

SHOCKED

Surprisingly, many sound banks were also included in this which shocked many.

“The blanket blacklisting of this number of cooperatives banks reflects badly on the country's financial health and regulation globally,'' Mr B.V.R. Sarma, the Greater Bombay Cooperative Bank Ltd, said.

Many middle class families are now holding accounts in urban cooperatives and the blacklisting would create “unnecessary hassle'', he said.

There was strong regulation in the country to guard against any kind of frauds/forgeries as alleged by the UK agency, he added.

Other known banks including AP Mahesh Cooperative Urban Bank, Pondicherry Cooperative Urban Bank Ltd and Saurashtra Cooperative Urban Bank Ltd, have also been blacklisted.

“The Government should take up this issue of unwarranted, blanket blacklisting with the UK authorities,'' said an official of AP Mahesh Bank. 

Courtesy : The Hindu Business Line / G.Naga Sridhar