PTPTN squeeze

PETALING JAYA: Many fresh graduates are finding it difficult to get loans from banks to buy cars or property, or even obtain credit cards, due to poor repayment of their National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans.
Those who have taken PTPTN loans are now included in the Credit Central Reference Information System (CCRIS) database as part of initiatives by the education fund board to recoup the RM8.3 billion in study loan arrears.
The database of about nine million borrowers from various financial institutions in the country is one of the principal sources used by financial institutions to check on the credit worthiness of loan applicants.
Indeed, many a fresh graduate have found their dreams of purchasing their first new car and riding superbikes dashed after their loan applications were rejected by banks.
PTPTN deputy chief executive officer (policy and operations) Mastura Mohd Khalid said the CCRIS move was necessary due to the low repayment rate of 47.3% (as at February).
Asked if it was reasonable for the defaulters to be blacklisted in CCRIS, she said: "We need them to repay consistently as we only managed to collect just RM7.5 billion out of RM15.8 billion. We need RM5 billion every year to fund students for their higher education."
Sales personnel from Proton and Perodua, which have always been among the first choice of cars for graduates due to their affordable pricing, reported that sales have been affected by the high number of rejected loan applications.
Checks by theSun with other car dealers and motorcycle sales personnel also confirmed this.
A Proton sales adviser based in Muar said: "Since this month, many new graduates have been unsuccessful in their loan applications. Details in their payslips may appear quite impressive with most applicants having low financial commitment.
"But when the bank officers view the CCRIS, they find that many had not paid their PTPTN loans for months, with some up to 37 months."
A local automotive portal Careta reported yesterday a Perodua sales manager had said that in the past, unsuccessful loan applications were always due to inconsistent payment of credit cards and other loans.
"But now it is because of PTPTN loans," he said.
"Perodua is often the preferred choice as the first car model for many graduates, but we are getting a lot of cases like these lately."
In a response, Association of Banks Malaysia (ABM) said poor repayment track record of any previous loans would generally have unfavourable implications on new applications.
ABM executive director Chuah Mei Lin said banks would consider whether the applicant will be able to meet both current and future repayment obligations.
"Banks evaluate an applicant's overall financial circumstances on a case-by-case basis, taking into account information available from various sources including CCRIS," said Chuah.
As such, any monthly financial commitments and / or outstanding loans, whether obtained from banks or non-banking institutions, including PTPTN, would be taken into consideration.