Bank of Bermuda will be holding seminars on how to make education financing more affordable.

In a release from the bank, which was bought over by HSBC in February, it said the seminars are scheduled for 18, 20, 25 and 27 May from 5.30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

"Offering the lowest education loan rates in Bermuda, 48-hour approvals and no service fees for the months of May, June and July 2004, the bank is committed to helping find ways to assist the Bermuda community to gain valuable education," said the bank in its statement.

Last month the bank announced that all personal loan interest rates would be reduced by 0.50 percent and yesterday the bank said that this reduction applied to education loans.

Frederica Forth, business development manager, personal lending, will be hosting the seminars and will discuss lending options for education loans for private school, boarding schools, colleges and universities, online and correspondence courses and professional development and designation courses.

She said: "We want to be able to help our customers reach their goals, whatever their stage in life, and that includes an education. We understand that tuition fees are expensive, and at Bank of Bermuda we can help with financing these costs by offering the lowest education loan rates to students of any age. The seminars will provide people with information on the options available to them for financing their educational needs."

The bank said it had also been visiting the local schools to share loan information with younger students and encourage them to start planning for their future education.