A college student loan in the Caribbean islands, including Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados is an area where there are not a lot of resources or discussions online. In this article we will venture into college loans available to students from various banking institutions in the Caribbean and what is needed to secure such college loans in these countries. The first stop will be Trinidad and Tobago.
From an online perspective there are four major banks that offer college and student loans for interested students and their families. The banks are:- RBTT Financial Group (Royal Bank Of Trinidad and Tobago)
- Scotiabank (Trinidad and Tobago)
- First Citizens' Bank
- Republic Bank
The review of Royal Bank is going to be quite short because RBTT does not provide any pertinent information for educational loans on their website. For one of the largest banks in the Caribbean region, their online presence is absolutely poor. The only options that can be classified under loans is "Getting a loan", which presents the absolute minimum information on loans, be it personal, college or student loans. Options include, "Quick Approval" with an online application form, which links to a very simplistic Preliminary Loan Information page. There is also an online loan payment calculator. In review, Royal Bank presents no options for information on student college loans. Maybe it is a ploy to get you into a branch. Overall the options presented are scant and very poor at best.
Now, on to Scotiabank (Trinidad and Tobago). Scotia presents a lot more information than RBTT does, but does not go as far we would like to see. The offer up information on how much you can borrow, options for part-time students, what you need, interest rates questions, and also who is eligible as well as when does loan repayment kick in. Compared to RBTT, Scotia is a winner if not on solely information alone. To dig in a bit more, a Scotiabank Student Loan offers full-time undergraduates a maximum of TT$450,000 towards tuition, books and other expenses. You get the college loan advance at either the beginning of the school year or semester, so there is some flexibility. Loans are also available for part-time college or university students. The interest rate in competitive with Scotiabank's lowest personal lending rate. Scotia however, does not publish daily rates on their website.
To be eligible, you must be a national of Trinidad and Tobago, and also registered in a program to complete a certificate, undergraduate, diploma, postgraduate, or professional course on either a full or part time basis, at the University of the West Indies (UWI), or any recognized university or junior college in North America and Europe. Interest payments are required for the duration of the loan, while principal payments begin after graduation no later that 6 months after the date of graduation. Another key requirement is that the student college loan requires a life insurance policy on the life of at least one of the applicants. The insurance serves as collateral for the loan, which Scotiabank can also assist with. Scotiabank's overall rating is very good.
First Citizens' Bank is in the same category as Royal Bank, and that is very poor when it comes to information of student loan offerings. It appears FCB's website is relatively new, and definitely not well maintained. Trinidad and Tobago businesses as a whole need to realize the poor image they are presenting by not having the best and cheapest form of advertising (the internet), poorly designed and maintained. FCB receives a lower rating than RBTT, which is extremely poor and a waste of bandwidth.
Republic Bank provides a median between the severely lacking RBTT and FCB offerings and the very good presentation by Scotiabank. Republic offers loans for student and college purposes in three categories:
- Loans up to TT$75,000 (60 months)
- Loans up to TT$125,000 (120 months)
- Loans greater than TT$125,000 (180 months)
In summary based on what is available online, it makes the decision to go to Scotiabank first, followed closely by Republic Bank with First Citizens’ Bank and Royal Bank trailing the pack, very far behind. Obviously an online assessment will not make or break your decision, but I hope it assists with the professional image a company presents in their online forays.
