Loan Eligibility: What Lenders Assess

Lenders set minimum and maximum age limits, and the maximum usually applies at loan maturity rather than at application. A longer tenure may therefore not be available to older applicants.

• Salaried applicants: net monthly salary, employer category and length of service
• Self-employed applicants: declared income in ITR, business vintage and continuity
• Businesses: turnover, profitability and consistency across filings
• Professionals: qualification, registration and years in practice

Your credit report shows past and current borrowings, repayment behaviour, settled or written-off accounts and recent enquiries. Delays, settlements and a rush of recent applications all weigh against a file. Errors on the report are common and worth correcting before applying.

• Total EMIs already being serviced, relative to income
• Utilisation of existing limits and credit cards
• Cheque returns or insufficient-balance instances
• Average balance maintained in the operating account

For business lending, most lenders look for a minimum operating history. For secured products such as loan against property, the asset's title, approvals and assessed value form a separate layer of the decision alongside repayment capacity.

Eligibility criteria differ between lenders and between products. Final approval, amount, interest rate and tenure are determined solely by the lender following its credit assessment.