By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiking rates for the second time in two months, banks have started transmitting the hike to consumers.
Through Wednesday and Thursday banks like HDFC, Kotak Mahindra, Union Bank of India and Karnataka Bank have announced increases.
The RBI had, in its third bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2018-19, increased the short-term lending rate by 25 basis points to 6.50 per cent on inflationary concerns.While Kotak Mahindra, Union Bank of India and Karnataka Bank announced rate increases on Thursday, HDFC revised its retail prime lending rate (RPLR) by 20 basis points or 0.20 per cent.
“HDFC has increased its Retail Prime Lending Rate (RPLR), on which its Adjustable Rate Home Loans (ARHL) are benchmarked, by 20 basis points, with effect from August 1, 2018,” the lender said in a statement.Post the revision, loans up to Rs 30 lakh will be available at 8.70 per cent and above Rs 30 lakh at 8.8 per cent for women borrowers.For other customers, the rate will be 5 basis points extra.
Union Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Karnataka bank meanwhile, have announced increases in their marginal cost of lending rates (MCLR) by 5-10 basis points.Union Bank raised its one-year MCLR by 10 bps to 8.55 per cent while Kotak Mahindra raised its one-month and three-month rates by 5 bps to 8.20 per cent and 8.55 per cent respectively.
While, State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank have kept their MCLR rates unchanged after the most recent rate hike, banks have begun hiking interest rates since June this year, when the RBI implemented the first rate hike in more than four years.
Just a day before RBI’s announcement, on July 31, SBI had raised the term deposit rates on select maturities by 5-10 basis points.Bank of Baroda and Indian Bank also made rate hikes through July, with the former hiking its MCLR by 5 basis points and the latter by 10 basis points across tenors.
