Tips on how to cut your banking charges

In these times of financial uncertainty, when markets are down and jobs are scarce, cost cutting has become the buzzword. Let alone companies, even individuals are looking to cut costs by reducing outings, trips or lavish shopping.

Your savings bank account is another place where you can look to cut costs a lot of it.

Banks levy various charges on transactions ranging from Rs 25 to Rs 1,000. And if you haven't been careful about them, or are not aware of them, in all likelihood they have already burnt a hole in your pocket.

A few steps, however, could help you not repeat the same mistakes this New Year and help you save money. If you ignore them, you will have to pay, literally. 

While there is no limit to the number of accounts you can have, it could prove costly to maintain more than one.

Most banks have a minimum balance limit. So, if you have six accounts, you would have to maintain a balance in each of them.

If you don't, you will have to pay a penalty - Rs 750 in most cases. And, you will have to pay that every quarter. So, in a year, you would end up paying Rs 3,000 that, too, for only one account.

If you have more, do your own math to calculate the total losses. If you maintain the balance, you will earn only 3.5 per cent against the 8 per cent that you could earn from a Public Provident Fund, or more through other saving instruments.

That's not all. A few banks levy added transaction charges in case of non-maintenance of minimum balance. Moreover, if you do maintain the minimum balance somehow, but are not using the account, you will pay again because some banks charge an inoperative account fee.

By now, if you are convinced about closing those accounts you don't use or need, be prepared to pay account closing charges.

However, it is better to pay up this one-time charge to avoid future losses. This charge is only for accounts that are six months to a year old. 

Think twice before you write those cheques, it may be better to use cash instead.

Most banks do issue at least one cheque book (20-25 leaves) per quarter free of cost if you maintain minimum balance. Otherwise, you pay up. If you want to use more cheque leaves, you will have to pay for each of those.

Also, make sure you have adequate funds before issuing a cheque because a bounced cheque is costly, too.

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If you do not maintain the minimum balance in your account, you will be liable to pay the penalty charges as well as other charges for various transactions

Penalty charges (per quarter)*

ICICI: Rs 750

HDFC: Rs 750

HSBC: Rs 750

Standard Chartered: Rs 750-1,500

State Bank of India (SBI): Rs 30-55

Kotak Mahindra Rs 150

Charges on transactions

Call To Customer Service (non-IVR)

HDFC: Rs 50 per call

ICICI: Rs 50 per call


Cash transactions at branch

ICICI: Rs 60 per transaction (first 3 transactions per quarter free)

HSBC: Rs 50 per transaction (first 2 transactions per quarter free)

Dormant account

SBI: Rs 30-50 per quarter

Standard Chartered: Rs 1,000 a year


Inoperative account

SBI: Rs 150 per quarter

HSBC: Rs 150 per quarter

Cheque charges

ICICI: Rs 5 per leaf SBI: Rs 2.50 per leaf

 

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Too many transactions could cost you too, whether they are through ATMs, or over the Internet, or phonebanking, or at the branch. Only a limited number of banking transactions come free of cost per quarter for many banks.

In Standard Chartered, the first four transactions through any channel (Internet banking, phonebanking, ATM or branches) per month are free. However, it charges as high as Rs 75 per transaction, subsequently.

Some banks even charge for repeated visits to the bank branch.

If you pay your credit card bill through cash at a branch, you are fined.

Says a senior executive of a private sector bank: "We want to discourage customers from coming to the branch, hence the fine. The customers can pay the bill through an ATM transaction, which is free." Banks also charge additional fees for banking at a non-base bank.

 

Keeping fewer papers will not only help you save money, but help keep your documents file uncluttered. So, be content with your quarterly account statements and monthly email statements.

A physical monthly statement would cost you Rs 100-200 per year.

Banks even charge you for issuing interest and balance certificates in deposit accounts. A balance certificate gives the balance of a particular day and is used mostly for Visa purposes, while an interest certificate shows the total interest earned on bank deposits and is used at the time of filing income tax returns.

Usually one certificate is issued free of cost every year. Make sure you don't lose it and pay to get a new one. 

 

Closing an account

Kotak Mahindra Bank: Rs 600 (within 6 months)

HSBC: Rs 500 (within 6 months)

SBI: Rs 100 (within 1 year)

Urgent cheque issued over the counter

HSBC: Rs 50 per leaf


Payment of credit card bill in cash at branch

ICICI Bank: Rs 100

HDFC Bank: Rs 100

Duplicate statement

Standard Chartered: Rs 100

HDFC Bank: Rs 100 at the branch, Rs 50 through phone banking or ATM, Rs 30 over the Net, mobile banking, IVR

Replacement of ATM/debit card

ICICI Bank: Rs 200 per card

PNB: Rs 100 per card

PIN Regeneration Charges

PNB: Rs 25

ICICI Bank: Rs 25 (free if request through Instapin at branch or IVR customer care)

Duplicate passbook

HDFC Bank: Rs 100

ICICI Bank: Rs 100 (Rs 25 per page for updation)

Stop-payment charges

ICICI Bank: Rs 50 per cheque

HSBC: Rs 100 per request

Unarranged overdraft

HDFC Bank: Rs 100 per transaction plus 18 per cent interest per annum

Cheque returns

ICICI Bank: Rs 100 if a local cheque issued to customer is returned, Rs 300 if the cheque issued by the customer is returned and Rs 750 if the same cheque is redeposited by the customer and is returned again

 

Carelessness is no excuse, especially when you are banking. For instance, if you deposit cash in the cheque drop box, banks will fine you.

Private banks charge Rs 100, and if the deposit amount is over Rs 500, the fine is Rs 300. If you repeat instances of cash deposits in the cheque drop box, you would have to pay an additional Rs 500.

Regeneration of the PIN number of ATM or debit cards costs money in most banks. So, if you can't remember your number, note it down at a safe place. Even replacement of cards attracts a fee.

Subscribing to SMS alerts, bill payment, home banking, duplicate passbook, cheque status, unarranged overdraft, inter-branch transactions and cash delivery are only some of the services which are charged for.

You pay for every personalised service, such as SMS alerts, that you avail from your bank. So, make sure you really need these. And, do remember that there is no such thing as a free service.

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Different types of Mutual Funds

Equity Funds

Equity funds are considered to be the more risky funds as compared to other fund types, but they also provide higher returns than other funds. It is advisable that an investor looking to invest in an equity fund should invest for long term i.e. for 3 years or more. There are different types of equity funds each falling into different risk bracket. In the order of decreasing risk level, there are following types of equity funds:

Aggressive Growth Funds - In Aggressive Growth Funds, fund managers aspire for maximum capital appreciation and invest in less researched shares of speculative nature. Because of these speculative investments Aggressive Growth Funds become more volatile and thus, are prone to higher risk than other equity funds.

Growth Funds - Growth Funds also invest for capital appreciation (with time horizon of 3 to 5 years) but they are different from Aggressive Growth Funds in the sense that they invest in companies that are expected to outperform the market in the future. Without entirely adopting speculative strategies, Growth Funds invest in those companies that are expected to post above average earnings in the future.

Speciality Funds - Speciality Funds have stated criteria for investments and their portfolio comprises of only those companies that meet their criteria. Criteria for some speciality funds could be to invest/not to invest in particular regions/companies. Speciality funds are concentrated and thus, are comparatively riskier than diversified funds.. There are following types of speciality funds:

Sector Funds: Equity funds that invest in a particular sector/industry of the market are known as Sector Funds. The exposure of these funds is limited to a particular sector (say Information Technology, Auto, Banking, Pharmaceuticals or Fast Moving Consumer Goods) which is why they are more risky than equity funds that invest in multiple sectors.

Foreign Securities Funds: Foreign Securities Equity Funds have the option to invest in one or more foreign companies. Foreign securities funds achieve international diversification and hence they are less risky than sector funds. However, foreign securities funds are exposed to foreign exchange rate risk and country risk.

Mid-Cap or Small-Cap Funds: Funds that invest in companies having lower market capitalization than large capitalization companies are called Mid-Cap or Small-Cap Funds. Market capitalization of Mid-Cap companies is less than that of big, blue chip companies (less than Rs. 2500 crores but more than Rs. 500 crores) and Small-Cap companies have market capitalization of less than Rs. 500 crores. Market Capitalization of a company can be calculated by multiplying the market price of the company's share by the total number of its outstanding shares in the market. The shares of Mid-Cap or Small-Cap Companies are not as liquid as of Large-Cap Companies which gives rise to volatility in share prices of these companies and consequently, investment gets risky.

Option Income Funds: While not yet available in India, Option Income Funds write options on a large fraction of their portfolio. Proper use of options can help to reduce volatility, which is otherwise considered as a risky instrument. These funds invest in big, high dividend yielding companies, and then sell options against their stock positions, which generate stable income for investors.

Diversified Equity Funds - Except for a small portion of investment in liquid money market, diversified equity funds invest mainly in equities without any concentration on a particular sector(s). These funds are well diversified and reduce sector-specific or company-specific risk. However, like all other funds diversified equity funds too are exposed to equity market risk. One prominent type of diversified equity fund in India is Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS). As per the mandate, a minimum of 90% of investments by ELSS should be in equities at all times. ELSS investors are eligible to claim deduction from taxable income (up to Rs 1 lakh) at the time of filing the income tax return. ELSS usually has a lock-in period and in case of any redemption by the investor before the expiry of the lock-in period makes him liable to pay income tax on such income(s) for which he may have received any tax exemption(s) in the past.

Equity Index Funds - Equity Index Funds have the objective to match the performance of a specific stock market index. The portfolio of these funds comprises of the same companies that form the index and is constituted in the same proportion as the index. Equity index funds that follow broad indices (like S&P CNX Nifty, Sensex) are less risky than equity index funds that follow narrow sectoral indices (like BSEBANKEX or CNX Bank Index etc). Narrow indices are less diversified and therefore, are more risky.

Value Funds - Value Funds invest in those companies that have sound fundamentals and whose share prices are currently under-valued. The portfolio of these funds comprises of shares that are trading at a low Price to Earning Ratio (Market Price per Share / Earning per Share) and a low Market to Book Value (Fundamental Value) Ratio. Value Funds may select companies from diversified sectors and are exposed to lower risk level as compared to growth funds or speciality funds. Value stocks are generally from cyclical industries (such as cement, steel, sugar etc.) which make them volatile in the short-term. Therefore, it is advisable to invest in Value funds with a long-term time horizon as risk in the long term, to a large extent, is reduced.

Equity Income or Dividend Yield Funds - The objective of Equity Income or Dividend Yield Equity Funds is to generate high recurring income and steady capital appreciation for investors by investing in those companies which issue high dividends (such as Power or Utility companies whose share prices fluctuate comparatively lesser than other companies' share prices). Equity Income or Dividend Yield Equity Funds are generally exposed to the lowest risk level as compared to other equity funds.

 

Debt / Income Funds

Funds that invest in medium to long-term debt instruments issued by private companies, banks, financial institutions, governments and other entities belonging to various sectors (like infrastructure companies etc.) are known as Debt / Income Funds. Debt funds are low risk profile funds that seek to generate fixed current income (and not capital appreciation) to investors. In order to ensure regular income to investors, debt (or income) funds distribute large fraction of their surplus to investors. Although debt securities are generally less risky than equities, they are subject to credit risk (risk of default) by the issuer at the time of interest or principal payment. To minimize the risk of default, debt funds usually invest in securities from issuers who are rated by credit rating agencies and are considered to be of "Investment Grade". Debt funds that target high returns are more risky. Based on different investment objectives, there can be following types of debt funds:

Diversified Debt Funds - Debt funds that invest in all securities issued by entities belonging to all sectors of the market are known as diversified debt funds. The best feature of diversified debt funds is that investments are properly diversified into all sectors which results in risk reduction. Any loss incurred, on account of default by a debt issuer, is shared by all investors which further reduces risk for an individual investor.

Focused Debt Funds - Unlike diversified debt funds, focused debt funds are narrow focus funds that are confined to investments in selective debt securities, issued by companies of a specific sector or industry or origin. Some examples of focused debt funds are sector, specialized and offshore debt funds, funds that invest only in Tax Free Infrastructure or Municipal Bonds. Because of their narrow orientation, focused debt funds are more risky as compared to diversified debt funds. Although not yet available in India, these funds are conceivable and may be offered to investors very soon.

High Yield Debt funds - As we now understand that risk of default is present in all debt funds, and therefore, debt funds generally try to minimize the risk of default by investing in securities issued by only those borrowers who are considered to be of "investment grade". But, High Yield Debt Funds adopt a different strategy and prefer securities issued by those issuers who are considered to be of "below investment grade". The motive behind adopting this sort of risky strategy is to earn higher interest returns from these issuers. These funds are more volatile and bear higher default risk, although they may earn at times higher returns for investors.

Assured Return Funds - Although it is not necessary that a fund will meet its objectives or provide assured returns to investors, but there can be funds that come with a lock-in period and offer assurance of annual returns to investors during the lock-in period. Any shortfall in returns is suffered by the sponsors or the Asset Management Companies (AMCs). These funds are generally debt funds and provide investors with a low-risk investment opportunity. However, the security of investments depends upon the net worth of the guarantor (whose name is specified in advance on the offer document). To safeguard the interests of investors, SEBI permits only those funds to offer assured return schemes whose sponsors have adequate net-worth to guarantee returns in the future. In the past, UTI had offered assured return schemes (i.e. Monthly Income Plans of UTI) that assured specified returns to investors in the future. UTI was not able to fulfill its promises and faced large shortfalls in returns. Eventually, government had to intervene and took over UTI's payment obligations on itself. Currently, no AMC in India offers assured return schemes to investors, though possible.

Fixed Term Plan Series - Fixed Term Plan Series usually are closed-end schemes having short term maturity period (of less than one year) that offer a series of plans and issue units to investors at regular intervals. Unlike closed-end funds, fixed term plans are not listed on the exchanges. Fixed term plan series usually invest in debt / income schemes and target short-term investors. The objective of fixed term plan schemes is to gratify investors by generating some expected returns in a short period.

 

Hybrid Funds

As the name suggests, hybrid funds are those funds whose portfolio includes a blend of equities, debts and money market securities. Hybrid funds have an equal proportion of debt and equity in their portfolio. There are following types of hybrid funds in India:

Balanced Funds - The portfolio of balanced funds include assets like debt securities, convertible securities, and equity and preference shares held in a relatively equal proportion. The objectives of balanced funds are to reward investors with a regular income, moderate capital appreciation and at the same time minimizing the risk of capital erosion. Balanced funds are appropriate for conservative investors having a long term investment horizon.

Growth-and-Income Funds - Funds that combine features of growth funds and income funds are known as Growth-and-Income Funds. These funds invest in companies having potential for capital appreciation and those known for issuing high dividends. The level of risks involved in these funds is lower than growth funds and higher than income funds.

Asset Allocation Funds - Mutual funds may invest in financial assets like equity, debt, money market or non-financial (physical) assets like real estate, commodities etc.. Asset allocation funds adopt a variable asset allocation strategy that allows fund managers to switch over from one asset class to another at any time depending upon their outlook for specific markets. In other words, fund managers may switch over to equity if they expect equity market to provide good returns and switch over to debt if they expect debt market to provide better returns. It should be noted that switching over from one asset class to another is a decision taken by the fund manager on the basis of his own judgment and understanding of specific markets, and therefore, the success of these funds depends upon the skill of a fund manager in anticipating market trends.

 

Gilt Funds

Also known as Government Securities in India, Gilt Funds invest in government papers (named dated securities) having medium to long term maturity period. Issued by the Government of India, these investments have little credit risk (risk of default) and provide safety of principal to the investors. However, like all debt funds, gilt funds too are exposed to interest rate risk. Interest rates and prices of debt securities are inversely related and any change in the interest rates results in a change in the NAV of debt/gilt funds in an opposite direction.



Money Market / Liquid Funds

Money market / liquid funds invest in short-term (maturing within one year) interest bearing debt instruments. These securities are highly liquid and provide safety of investment, thus making money market / liquid funds the safest investment option when compared with other mutual fund types. However, even money market / liquid funds are exposed to the interest rate risk. The typical investment options for liquid funds include Treasury Bills (issued by governments), Commercial papers (issued by companies) and Certificates of Deposit (issued by banks).


Commodity Funds

Those funds that focus on investing in different commodities (like metals, food grains, crude oil etc.) or commodity companies or commodity futures contracts are termed as Commodity Funds. A commodity fund that invests in a single commodity or a group of commodities is a specialized commodity fund and a commodity fund that invests in all available commodities is a diversified commodity fund and bears less risk than a specialized commodity fund. "Precious Metals Fund" and Gold Funds (that invest in gold, gold futures or shares of gold mines) are common examples of commodity funds.

 

Real Estate Funds

Funds that invest directly in real estate or lend to real estate developers or invest in shares/securitized assets of housing finance companies, are known as Specialized Real Estate Funds. The objective of these funds may be to generate regular income for investors or capital appreciation.


Exchange Traded Funds (ETF)

Exchange Traded Funds provide investors with combined benefits of a closed-end and an open-end mutual fund. Exchange Traded Funds follow stock market indices and are traded on stock exchanges like a single stock at index linked prices. The biggest advantage offered by these funds is that they offer diversification, flexibility of holding a single share (tradable at index linked prices) at the same time. Recently introduced in India, these funds are quite popular abroad.


Fund of Funds

Mutual funds that do not invest in financial or physical assets, but do invest in other mutual fund schemes offered by different AMCs, are known as Fund of Funds. Fund of Funds maintain a portfolio comprising of units of other mutual fund schemes, just like conventional mutual funds maintain a portfolio comprising of equity/debt/money market instruments or non financial assets. Fund of Funds provide investors with an added advantage of diversifying into different mutual fund schemes with even a small amount of investment, which further helps in diversification of risks. However, the expenses of Fund of Funds are quite high on account of compounding expenses of investments into different mutual fund schemes.


Risk Heirarchy of Different Mutual Funds

Thus, different mutual fund schemes are exposed to different levels of risk and investors should know the level of risks associated with these schemes before investing. The graphical representation hereunder provides a clearer picture of the relationship between mutual funds and levels of risk associated with these funds:

   

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