[hserus]

Originally Posted by digitalnirvana

Have paid the price heavily. Ended up with 5 ULIPs, all forced down my throat (and at times when I was in personal distress e.g. Father's hospitalization and not thinking straight). All 80C and have no money left for MFs and the like.

Very disappointed in their RMs for a so called Prima customer. They call every year in March and force a ULIP on some pretext of the other.

I told my RM as soon as he said hello that I am not in the market for ulip, nfo, mutual funds etc etc, I do my own investment so please dont ask.

Next time he called and tried to sell me some rubbish, I hung up on him, and blocked his number on my phone.

Job done.

[DigitalOne]

Originally Posted by hserus

I told my RM as soon as he said hello that I am not in the market for ulip, nfo, mutual funds etc etc, I do my own investment so please dont ask.

I have a friendly talk with my RMs where I explain to them that I do my own investments; then both of us come to an agreement that we have "met" and if any calls from their superiors I will say that he/she has met me. Works everytime.

These poor RMs are also a harried lot and have to fulfill their targets of meeting customers. It is better to help the poor souls :-).

[dass]

Originally Posted by DigitalOne

I have a friendly talk with my RMs where I explain to them that I do my own investments; then both of us come to an agreement that we have "met" and if any calls from their superiors I will say that he/she has met me. Works everytime.

I do the same with mine. She calls me once a month and asks if I need anything and I say NO, she then says if someone calls, please tell them she visited my place and then we are all set. She has requested that I call her directly if I need anything anytime, though I am yet to get a reason to call her.

[skchettry]

I have NRE accounts with Axis and Yes Bank, NROs with Axis and HDFC Bank (this one converted from resident to NR). My remittances go to Yes Bank (the reason being they offer 6% interest although Axis Bank branch is just a few steps from my society building). The RMs in Yes Bank change out every year or so; one of them kept annoying me about doing investments through his bank although I kept telling him that my investments are routed through an advisor who has an expertise in the field of investments whereas you are a Banker. He left his job and moved to another bank and was succeeded by another who did not bother me much on being told flatly during introduction that i am not going to do any investments through bank. Earlier HDFC Bank RMs used to bother me a lot about investments and I ended up with buying a bunch of ULIPs - which I am regretting till date as some of the worst investments of my lifetime.

[aadya]

Originally Posted by centaur

. Looking to choose for a salary savings between Kotak and HDFC. Which is a better option? I know about Kotak paying 6% interest but I suppose they have some charges too, which other banks don't have. With Citi, Thanks

Been associated with Kotak since 7 years, myself and my wife have seperate accounts. 6% interest offer is for real and has a simple rule that the balance should be above 1lakh for this rate to apply(the days when balance goes below 1Lakh the ROI would be 5%). I park two months worth EMI money in kotak all the time and it fetches a reasonable interest and gives peace of mind with not missing the EMI. I have visited the branch few times and they were very receptive.
Time to Time a new RM would try to sell some investment product. I just tell them I will call back when I get some hard cash and refuse the current offer politely and never they were pushy. Internet banking and mobile banking are very user friendly.
Have utilised free DD, Cash pickup(for small amounts) few times, transactions were smooth and prompt. Even I had a car loan through kotak prime which was trouble free to process and to close. With ING merging with kotak their presence is equal to HDFC if not better.
I would keep myself away from ICICI and AXIS as primary account, though I use ICICI account and linked debit card for cash withdrawals incase of emergencies due to their presence.

[digitalnirvana]

Originally Posted by hserus

I told my RM as soon as he said hello that I am not in the market for ulip, nfo, mutual funds etc etc, I do my own investment so please dont ask.

Next time he called and tried to sell me some rubbish, I hung up on him, and blocked his number on my phone.

Job done.

Honestly I told the guy that you fleece me using Insurance and he had the gall to sell me another ULIP. I was at the hospital and said yes thinking it was a one time premium and he later says it is for 5 years. I despise the guy and have no way to get rid.

[Su-47]

Guys, can you please recommend a bank that provides good rates for repatriation of USDs (say a spread of 50p with respect to XE.com)? I have dealt with Citibank and one needs to either haggle or settle for really bad rates. Most of my investments are in DIY mode, so investing enough with them to get to their preferential status isn't really an option.


The idea is to lock least amount of money with investments done on the bank's platform and still get good forex rates and good quality of service. Have read good comments about IndusInd in the previous pages, but couldn't gather how good they are with respect to forex, so feedback about that aspect would be great.

Thanks in advance,
Su-47

[drsingh]

Originally Posted by Su-47

Guys, can you please recommend a bank that provides good rates for repatriation of USDs (say a spread of 50p with respect to XE.com)? I have dealt with Citibank and one needs to either haggle or settle for really bad rates. Most of my investments are in DIY mode, so investing enough with them to get to their preferential status isn't really an option.

The idea is to lock least amount of money with investments done on the bank's platform and still get good forex rates and good quality of service. Have read good comments about IndusInd in the previous pages, but couldn't gather how good they are with respect to forex, so feedback about that aspect would be great.

Thanks in advance,
Su-47

https://www.remit2india.com/sendmone...a/homepage.jsp


Any large bank: HDFC,Kotak,Axis.

Use remit2india to deposit money in your Indian Bank account.

[Su-47]

Originally Posted by drsingh

Use remit2india to deposit money in your Indian Bank account.

Thanks! But, presume remit2india would require a bank account in the US, and I don't have that. The transfer that I'm talking about is from a brokerage account, and they won't let me transfer out to an account held in someone else's name.


So, still need advice on an Indian bank with low forex conversion markups...

[drsingh]

Originally Posted by Su-47

Thanks! But, presume remit2india would require a bank account in the US, and I don't have that. The transfer that I'm talking about is from a brokerage account, and they won't let me transfer out to an account held in someone else's name.

So, still need advice on an Indian bank with low forex conversion markups...

They can't just use remit to India to transfer to an Indian account directly?

[condor]

ICICI seems to have pushed fresh graduates / new hires to the smaller branches. Looks like some kind of cost-cutting on the personnel front ?

[narayan]

Although I work in a large foreign bank and have had my a/c with just this bank most of my life ( i also had credit cards only with this bank ), last year I decided to "de-risk" and opened a/c with Kotak. Absolutely impressed with their online banking/app and other capabilities. They score much better than this bank I work for which is supposed to have been a leader in retail banking. I would anyday recommend Kotak ( coming from a banker! ). The other bank I have started dealing with recently is RBL ( earlier Ratnakar Bank ltd ) for my NRE a/cs. These guys, I think, offer the highest interest rates on deposits in the market ( except of course cooperative banks ). Good service and great online banking.

[sumathindra]

I have been banking with Citi since 20 years now. I was one of the early "suvidha SB a/c" owners and have seen it evolve over the years.

The kind of features they have been offering over the years has been so convenient and friendly. The ease of use both domestic and international is fabulous. Have no specific regrets with them.

[turbospooler]

I have accounts is HDFC, ICICI & SBI. All 3 are equally disappointing.
With HDFC, I am a "Preferred" Customer and with ICICI, I am in their Wealth Management Program (not rich, just got my hands on a credit card which upgrades my status whatsoever).

HDFC has some horrible RMs and mine just told me to take a personal loan which they are offering at 10.99%. When I told, I was not looking for any loan, he tried to sell it by saying, "Sirji, itne kam rate of interest pe mil rahan hain, toh leke rakh lijiye paisa ya phir FD mein invest kar lijiye" (Sir, take this loan and invest in FD).
I was so amused and angry at the same time, that I have decided not to have any contact with this guy. He was sounding more like a roadside salesman than someone who is authorized to talk to the so-called "Preferred" customers of a bank.

ICICI on the other hand has not appointed any RM (for their Wealth Management customers?!) but now I have a direct calling line to the Executive without having to deal with IVR.

Nothing great is expected out of SBI.

Sheer laziness on my part (and some operational thoughts of maintaining multiple bank accounts) for not switching to any other bank.

[sunilch]

I have tried multiple banks and retain my accounts with more than one even today simply to have some back-up in case I loose my Debit-Card, Credit-Card or Cheque book (Yes my family and I still use those at times) and also to avail different services from different locations when needed. Following would be my opinion after availing their services:

Kotak - Very good. Good branch presence in big cities (even Tier-II now). Reliable services and friendly staff. My father is a Senior Citizen with some health issues and I frequently avail their 'Home Banking' services.

ICICI - Good on technology (similar to Kotak) but branches are too crowded. Services would take time to complete but they do complete their services.

Citibank - Early adopter of their "Suvidha" accounts. The bank is good and staff is very friendly. Similar to Kotak. Only exception is the limited number of branches. All services are available online or via phone. Good on technology too.

HDFC - Too crowded and just another 'regular' bank. Slow to move. Staff friendliness quotient is OK - it depends on the service you would need and the day you visit the branch. Some folks are very friendly and helpful and some act like those PSB ones.

Multiple PSBs (before I started working) namely BoI, BoB, PNB, Union, Dena, etc. Old in technology, too slow and too many queues at all branches. Services are either Bad or strictly Average - depending upon the branch you deal with. Common among most of these is the sheer number of people who bank with them. The numbers are large and people wait at the gates in the morning or during lunch breaks just to get in first and be ahead in the queue. There is a queue for everything that you need.

Co-operative Banks - Staff is friendly as it is always a local bank and so you either know someone or know their language. Services are limited but they are usually efficient in what they offer. Banking charges are lower compared to other banks.