Hyderabad: Software professionals are shying away from bank loans. Disbursement of loans to software professionals has come down by 50 per cent in the June-July period.
The global IT industry is passing through a difficult phase with automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) gaining ground.
Apart from government employees, professionals from the IT sector were most sought-after by banks due to their high salary package.
According to Ravi Kumar, a senior official with a leading private sector bank, loan disbursement fell down in the last two months. “Among the private sector employees, IT professionals lead the pack when it comes to loans. In fact, 80 per cent of private sector employees are from the IT industry. Now, their number has came down by 50 per cent,” Ravi Kumar said.
It is not that banks have put any cap on disbursing loans to IT professionals. The problem is that they are not coming forward to avail the facility, he added.
Among different types of loans given to IT professionals, housing loans constituted more than 70 per cent, followed by vehicle loans (15 per cent).
Ram Gollapudi, a manager with a leading IT company, said, “IT professionals are saving money to meet future requirements. Besides, the interest rates are still high in India. Unless financial institutions come out some novel plans, IT professionals will not come forward as the industry is passing through a difficult phase.”
Nikhila Thati, a IT professional, said that there is no job security in the IT industry currently if the developments in the five months are any indication. So, taking a loan at this point of time is risky, she added.
Madhusudhan, a senior IT manager, said that he was having second thoughts about bank loans. Though we are getting many calls from banks and financial institutions, we do not entertain them.
