BANK OF BAHRAIN AND KUWAIT B.S.C
Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait (the Bank) has adopted the following Fair Practice Code in respect of its lending activities.
FAIR PRACTICES :
Product Information :
A prospective customer would be given all the necessary information adequately explaining the range of loan products available with the bank to suit his needs.
The customer would be explained the process involved for sanction and disbursement of loan and would be informed of the timeframe within which the bank would complete all the processes.
The customer would be informed the procedure involved in servicing and closure of the loan taken.
Application for loans and their processing :
For the retail customers, the Bank would have the loan application forms containing information about the fees/charges payable for processing, repayment options so that a meaningful comparison can be made by the prospective borrowers to enable them to take an informed decision.
For retail loans while giving an acknowledgement for receipt of all loan applications, the Bank would indicate the time frame within which the loan application containing full information / details / documents would be disposed off.
For Corporate and SME borrowers, credit facilities are provided based on customer selection and risk assessment for these segments. Thus for this segment the Bank does not have any prescribed standardized application forms to be submitted by the prospective customers.
After verifying the documents, in case additional details / information / documents are required the Bank would intimate the borrower immediately.
The Bank would convey to the borrower the credit limit sanctioned along with the terms and conditions thereof and obtain his specific acknowledgement for the same. While conveying approval the Bank would request the borrower to specifically inform the Bank in writing whether he would need a copy of the loan agreement along with copies of all enclosures quoted therein and wherever such requests are made the same should be made available.
The Bank would convey in writing the reasons to all loan applicants, which in the opinion of the Bank after due consideration, have led to rejection of the loan application.
Disbursement of loans including changes in terms and conditions :
Drawing beyond the sanctioned limit / honoring the cheques issued for the purpose other than specifically agreed to in the credit sanction / disallowing drawings on a borrowal account on its classification as a non performing asset or on account of non compliance with the terms and conditions of sanction etc. would be solely at the discretion of the Bank. Any enhancement of credit limits is at the discretion of the Bank after taking a review of the credit limits sanctioned.
The Bank would ensure timely disbursement of loans sanctioned in conformity with the terms and conditions of the sanction.
The Bank would give notice of any changes in terms and conditions to the borrower concerned. In respect of interest rates and service charges etc., the Bank would give notice to the borrowers in respect of any change in the interest rates / service charges. The Bank would also ensure that the changes in interest charges are effected only prospectively.
The Bank would notify clearly about the default interest / penal interest rate to the customer.