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Credit card issuers in India reportedly are tightening credit limits amid increasing defaults and delinquencies among cardholders. Major banks CardLine Global contacted would not provide details regarding any reductions, but one India-based cardholder tells CardLine Global Citibank recently reduced his credit limit to 58,000 rupees (US$1,160 or 910 euros) from 75,000 rupees. "The worldwide financial crisis has had its impact on the Indian financial market as well, more so on the banking sector," Prathima Rajan, an analyst from United States-based research company Celent LLC, tells CardLine Global. The establishment in 2000 of the Credit Information Bureau, a credit-information agency, had made it easier for issuers to review data about all cardholders, Rajan notes. "Some banks have also stopped issuing new cards due to the economic crisis," Rajan says. The limit reductions in India echo recent reductions in the United Kingdom brought on by the economic crisis (CardLine Global, 8 April).
