NEW YORK (TIP): “We are a bank that understands the needs of the South Asian community.We speak your language and can communicate better.We are your bank. Come to us. We are ready to help.” These were some of the pronouncements of Mr. Saleem Iqbal, President and CEO of HAB BANK, in his address to the Punjabi community at Royal India Palace banquet in the City of Richmond Hill, Queens, November 13, 2013. Mr. Iqbal was accompanied by the top brass of the bank that included Navneet S. Chugh, Director, Rizwan Qureshi, SEVP & Chief Compliance Officer, Zilay Wahidy, SVP & Chief Marketing Executive, Teddy Persaud, Business Development Officer, Ismail Ahmed, Branch Manager at Liberty Avenue, Richmond Hill and Kamal S. Puri, Branch Manager at Jackson Heights branch of the bank. Mr. Navneet S. Chugh, a Director of the bank, who had come from California, made an impressive case for compliance with rules and laws for a smooth sail in this country. He exhorted nearly 50 community leaders present to play by the rule.

And the first rule, he said, they need to follow is to pay taxes. However, he also added in the same breath that there always is a way out to help those who do not have a perfect credit score. But it is a limited scope that cannot be relied on. It is always better to go in for a sound financial dealing and have a clean financial record. There is no dearth of loans and advances to those who pay their taxes and bills and have a good credit score. Members of the community poured out their difficulties and problems, most of which related to non availability f loans from banks because of low credit scores. Some even claimed that they had property but not the cash they needed to bolster their businesses because of low credit scores.

Mr. Navneet S. Chugh, a Director of the bank, established immediate rapport with the gathering and exhorted them to pay taxes and maintain a good credit score to raise loans from banks to bolster their businesses

The outreach program was coordinated by Prof. Indrajit S Saluja, Editor, The Indian Panorama who conducted the proceedings and thanked all for their presence, on behalf of HAB Bank, and a senior community leader Master Mohinder Singh, Founder President of Gurdwara Baba Makhan Shah Lobana and a former President of the largest Sikh shrine on the East Coast, Gurdwara Sikh Cultural Society, Richmond Hill, New York.