IMGCAP(1)]
Major commercial banks in India, including HDFC Bank Ltd., reportedly are reducing the number of outsourced telemarketers they use to sell credit cards. The number of those telemarketers, also known as "direct selling agents," has declined by about 25% over the past six months, according to the Rupee Times. The paper quotes an HDFC official saying the bank is relying more on in-house agents to sell credit cards. Bank officials did not respond to CardLine Global requests for comment. Prathima Rajan, a India-based analyst for United States-based research company Celent LLC, tells CardLine Global the current financial turmoil coupled with increasing default rates have led some issuers to slow their efforts to gain more credit card customers. "Banks are also [cutting] costs … by reducing the number of direct-selling agents," she says.
