Mumbai: HSBC has launched FlexiFinance, a service that will offer easy access to a personal credit line and flexible repayment plans.

Through this service, the banks personal banking customers will now be able to avail themselves of an overdraft limit of up to five times their monthly salary or income. A monthly interest of 2 per cent will be charged on the daily outstanding. The interest will be charged only on the amount utilised.

Talking to presspersons, HSBC country head (personal banking services) Vivek Kudva said this product is targeted at salaried individuals and professionally-qualified, self-employed individuals.

The minimum overdraft allowed is Rs 50,000, and the maximum is Rs 8 lakh. About HSBCs plans for personal banking, Kudva said in the next three years, the bank has decided to double its customer-base in personal banking from the present 1 million. The bank has issued 6 lakh credit cards so far; its card-base grew by 50 per cent year-on-year in 2001. Deposits have been growing at 20 per cent for the past few years.

Speaking on the budget announcement giving foreign banks the option of either setting up a subsidiary or operating through branches, Kudva said it is too early to arrive at any conclusion on the matter now. We will review the situation once all the information is made available and then take a balanced view.