In response to the SC ruling against the deployment of musclemen by banks, banks have come up with a unique solution to the problem of non-repayment of bank loans. Banks have decided to change their policy from prosecution to persuasion. Bank loan defaulters will now have to deal with smiling, soft-spoken women, instead of burly, intimidating collection agents, persuading them to pay up.

This new practice is already in place with more than 200 women across eight cities already doing the job for 20 nationalized banks. These women are employees of Adhikrut Jabti Evam Vasuli (AJEV), a firm which had a modest beginning in Indore. With the SC coming down heavily on banks for deploying goons for recovering loans, the women recovery agents seem to have a bright future, with an increasing number of banks vouching for them.

AJEV has already opened offices across Tamil Nadu, MP, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Orissa and Karnataka. Vasuli gets 800-odd assignments daily. The agency trains agents in recovery of loans for immovable property.

Talking about her staff, which comprises of 80% women, Vasuli joint managing director, Manju Bhatia, said that the women recovery agents have demolished the notion that recovery agents must be men with muscle power to coerce defaulters.