I have flexi loans with both Stanchart and Citibank. I pay RM10 per month for checking facilities on Stanchart, nothing with Citibank and only have ATM facilities. Won't comment on rates, but functionally they're very similar. You pay a certain amount on your due date, and any amount extra will offset your principal; saving interest on that amount. Withdrawal of extras is immediate and unlimited.

The way it's implemented however is different. Putting extra money in Stanchart will reduce your overall monthly payment. The statement tells you how much interest is saved overall but not broken down monthly. For example if I dumped RM10k into the account, my payment goes down by about RM150 monthly but that's the only info actually stated.

Putting extra money in Citibank will not reduce your monthly payments. However, the actual principal paid off per month is higher. With RM2k in the account, I see say RM1500 going to interest and RM500 going to the principal amount. With RM20k in the account, the breakdown can be RM1200 and RM800. I still pay RM2k per month in each case.

After having both for some time, I'm liking the Citibank approach much better because I can manage my money better knowing that I pay a fixed amount each month (assuming BLR doesn't change) and I can actually see the amount taken out of the principal. I haven't done any in depth calculations to figure if either method is superior however.

No experience with HLB.

Citibank extra payments deduct principal straight away. Despite other banks claims that they do in reality they dont. If u need Citibank loan, contact me. I work in that department. Anything u may pm me. I also have commission. Cheers!

Both Stanchart and Citibank will list the actual principal amount still outstanding. Stanchart makes you do the math yourself to figure out how much principal was deducted that month, Citibank states it clearly in the statement.

Both Stanchart and Citibank are more than happy to negotiate rates with you. My last loan went to Citibank because their rates were lower and Stanchart couldn't match them.

My loan was 200k only. I got the offer letter from Citibank, and was trying to negotiate with Stanchart since my previous loan was already there. I'm not sure what the normal procedure is, maybe someone else can chip in. While they may not give you a better rate, they can at least match what other equivalent banks are providing.

I didn't look into HSBC to be honest. With my previous loan before this one I again was comparing Stanchart with Citibank (plus MBB, RHB, BCB). This was back when MortgageOne was first announced and at that time Stanchart gave me a better deal.

Hi guys,

This might be out of topic, but I was just wondering, what are the reasons behind someone actually wanting or prefering the flexi advantages?

If its for business, invesment, emergency, or etc. wouldn't it be better to separate your loan from your flexi/banking accounts?

Have you guys ever wondered if you're behind payment by a few months on your home loan, do you still think the bank will allow you to withdraw the money from your flexi account?

Just wanna know your reasonings. Thanks.

I see, thanks for your response mIssfROGY.

So basically you're using the linked accounts as a day to day work/business cash flow account?

or

Do you only deposit the extras you have into the account after setting aside money for business/work purposes?

From my personal experience, the reason why most sole proprietors would really have a need to withdraw from thier account is when they are having cash flow problems in business etc. hence, the reason why they might be behind payment for a month a two in thier loan instalment.

Though flexi account might seem to have its advantages, but only if the cash flow is managed and controlled properly, or else with the little bit of charges here and there it might be better to go for a conventional loan and separate both the accounts, preferable in different banks as the deposit and withdrawals you do would even earn you less interest compared to setting it aside in a monthly renewable FD account.

You wouldn't want the bank to hold on to your cash when you're running late on a few payments and yet in need of it to keep your business running.

Also if you're more concerned about saving interest by making prepayments as you have setup a seperate account for cash flow, read up on this article - http://www.finweb.com/mortgage-loan-educat...prepayment.html

But do make sure your bank actually uses your prepayment to do principal reduction rather than advance payment in a suspended account. Makes a big different in the long run.

tishaban, if you read on the debate that I had in the other forum you'll find that the other guy marxdean does have a very good point (he's acting as the devil's advocate); whereby is it really worth it to spend that RM10 per month? as compared to OCBC whereby they charge RM50 per withdrawal....which one is more suitable..?

Citibank is good in the sense that no account maintenance fee is needed to maintain the account.
But overall it all depends on how one's thought on whether or not it's worth it....
Cheers!

He is a great guy IMO. He help put thinking caps on us for us to look at different angle. Since he never log on to that forum, i seldom log in there too.

So i guess it all depends on what's the need and planning one had before commiting themselves into a certain loan agreement.

Actually we could always do pre payment with conventional loan too. Just that it's quite a hassle because one needs to inform the bank to either shorten the tenor or reduce monthly repayment. Another con is we could not withdraw unless with OD facility..

Currently a lot would be either choosing "full" flexi or "partial" flexi. So i would suggest one to really consider properly and indeed Citi is a good choice but personally felt that the rate is not that attractive sometimes.

Cheers!

Hi let say I have overdraf from my home loan for 100k and i never use the 100k. If i deposit extra money into that account, will the bank pay me interest ?

Sorry, can't help you there. I've stopped "shopping".

But anyway, rates published and rates actually offered are usually different. It all depends on how big is the loan and how well the sales fight your case.
In this case, Citi is more rigid towards this type of offer.

Good luck.

meejawa, I guess your priorities and mine are different, I prefer Citibank because it's a fixed deduction, it's something I can plan for today, next month or 10 years down the road.

I haven't really seen the lock-in period for Citibank to be any different from other banks though, both my loans with Citibank and Stanchart have 5-year lock in periods. Can't remember the penalty amounts.

However does anyone else find it very annoying that it'll still take one business day for Citibank to credit their credit card accounts even if you transfer it through online banking?

Yup, different priorities

For the lock in period and penalty, it's negotiable. This is something I didn't know earlier. When I mentioned to my other friends, they didn't either. With this knowledge I've managed to get a better deal for my loan. (Everything in HL is negotiable, especially if the agent is not directly from bank, i.e. agency outside)

For online banking, when I transfer via internet to clear my Citibank CC, it takes effect immediately.

HL as in Housing Loan. 

The thing is I believe that we don't have a strong enough consumer protection agency and the banks simply take advantage of it. If we had more consumer protection then maybe we'll get better services and not too many charges from the banks.

I don't agree that it doesn't make a difference that the amount is small, if could just be a few RM per customer but when they have a few thousand customers the total adds up for the bank.

If CTB offers me a BLR-1.5) for whole tenure for a below 300k  refinance loan,
with flexibility of withdrawing and putting in money without prior notice and,
need to open an initial RM200 loan account. Is this package worth thinking of?
Is there anything about citibank should i be aware of?

Ambank offer flexi loan with monthly fee RM5, B-1.5% whole tenure for 70k loan..
do u still think that CTB offer good rate?