OREANDA-NEWS. August 27, 2014. Student loan contracts may be concluded at SEB branches or via the Internet bank.

Once a student loan contract has been concluded, two guarantors who are private persons can sign the suretyship contracts at a bank branch or via the Internet bank, and the student loan may be guaranteed against the collateral of real estate in Estonia.

The maximum student loan amount for the 2014/2015 academic year is EUR 1920, which may also be applied for in instalments as needed. Students who are going to attend a vocational post-secondary course lasting less than 9 months will receive a student loan that is half the maximum amount (EUR 960). An Estonian citizen or a person holding a long-term residence permit or having the right of permanent residence is eligible to be the guarantor of a student loan, if the person has been earning a regular income equal to at least the minimum wage for the past three months. For detailed information on whether real estate is suited for guaranteeing a student loan, contact any SEB branch.

“Taking out a student loan is advisable if the actual need for a loan and the purposes for its use have been considered thoroughly. Accordingly, it is reasonable to think through whether there is a need for the entire loan in a lump sum or, rather, in portions, whether there is capacity to cope with the payment of annual interest on a student loan even if no additional loan amount is obtained, etc. Year on year, interest in the student loan has been waning; nonetheless, there are still students for whom, in the absence of any other income, the student loan is indispensable for paying their living costs, if nothing else. Because of that, we do not anticipate any further noticeable decrease in borrowing activity compared to the past few years,” commented Triin Messimas, Development Manager of Private Loans at SEB.

SEB will start transferring loan amounts into the accounts of first-year students from 1 October; more advanced students will receive their loan from 15 September, provided that they meet the conditions precedent to receiving a student loan. If the recipient of a student loan who has an existing student loan contract does not want the bank to transfer this year’s loan amount into his or her account or wishes to take the loan out in instalments, he or she is asked to notify SEB at the latest by 11 September. The application can be submitted via the Internet bank, by mail, or delivered to any branch of SEB. For detailed information on the student loan, go to the SEB webpage at www.seb.ee