|
|
Recast time
|
Mumbai, Aug. 11: The State Bank of India (SBI) today raised its benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by one percentage point to 13.75 per cent.
The countrys largest bank said the rate hike would have no impact on borrowers who have taken home loans of up to Rs 30 lakh. Borrowers of education loans will also be spared.
Depositors can also rejoice as the SBI has decided to revise interest rates on deposits by 25 to 75 basis points.
The interest rate on deposits of 1 year to less than 2 years has been raised to 10 per cent from 9.5 per cent earlier.
This is the second deposit rate hike since June 27 when the bank had revised its deposit rates by 15 to 75 basis points.
While the hike in the benchmark lending rate will be applicable from August 12, the new deposit rate structure will come into effect from August 16. The lending rate increase will largely impact corporate clients who will have to shell out more.
The SBIs move follows the Housing Development Finance Corporation, which raised its prime lending rates at the end of July, and other banks such as ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank (PNB).
All of them had raised the interest rates on their loans after the Reserve Bank of India raised the repo rate by a hefty 50 basis points and the cash reserve ratio by 25 basis points to 9 per cent each after reviewing its monetary policy on July 29.
PNB revised its BPLR by 100 basis points to 14 per cent. Apart from PNB, the Bank of Baroda and the Bank of India were the others who raised the benchmark rate by 75 basis points to 14 per cent.
In a statement, the SBI said it was insulating both its existing and new home loan borrowers from the BPLR hike.
In auto loans, the increase will be restricted to 50 basis points. The bank claimed this exemption would benefit a large section of its customers.
The bank believes that its action will contribute to the revival of these sectors which have witnessed some strain recently and would also enhance demand for credit, the statement said.
The bank said it had reworked its business profile to ensure that the changes in deposit rates would not adversely affect its net interest margins (NIM). NIM is the difference between interest income and interest expense.
While interest rate on deposits of 91 to 180 days has been revised to 7.5 per cent from 7 per cent, deposits of 181 to less than one year will now be paid around 8.50 per cent (8 per cent).
The sharpest hike came in the tenure of three years to less than five years where the revised interest rate stands at 9.75 per cent against 9 per cent earlier.
|