The investor and the businessman – are the MOST important people in the economy! They go around looking for business opportunities and when convinced they put THEIR own money into a project. The project then becomes big, raises money from the public and generates more money for the economy.

Sadly for us in India, the Investor today means the FII, and businessman either means a crony capitalism expert or a foreign investor like Samsung, LG, Suzuki, Honda or a big Indian industrialist who is here to create NPAs. Look at big groups like Adag, Adani, GVK, GMR, SREI, …- none of them can raise money from the public. So they go to banks and raise HUGE amounts of money – and there is a good chance that they cannot repay a penny.

The small businessman is treated very shabbily by the bankers – surprised? Do not be. They get treated well only in co-operative banks and in private sector banks if they know the TOP management.

In fact many small businessmen I know (I call them small but all of them have net-worth in the region of about Rs. 15-30 crores, just to put things in perspective). Most of them pay at least 1% more in interest and other charges just because they are too lazy to change bankers or fight with the existing ones for a better rate.

One middle level borrower (with a CC limit of Rs. 1.5 crores) could not get a better rate from his existing Co-op bank. He moved to a Pvt sector bank, and got about 1% less. Actually the Pvt sector bank chased him – he had a brilliant Crisil rating (keeda, he did not need it, jlt he took it.

However most of the mid sized businessmen are reluctant to deal with a) bankers b) mutual fund advisers, c) insurance sales people d) CAs to file IT returns e) …..

the list is long..