HDFC, the country’s largest mortgage financer, has increased its lending rate, following in the footsteps of other lenders. The HDFC rate hike will be effective from today. “HDFC has increased its retail prime lending rate (RPLR), on which its adjustable rate home loans are benchmarked, by 10 basis points, with effect from October 1, 2018,” the lender said in a statement to the BSE. The HDFC move comes in wake of an overall increase in the interest rate in the financial system.
In August, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had resorted to a back-to-back interest rate hike for the first time in almost five years to curb inflation. The RBI is set to again review interest rates on October 5.
The RBI’s monetary policy committee (MPC) may raise policy rates by 25 basis points on Friday for the third time this year amid surging crude oil prices and weakening rupee. Of the 15 economists surveyed by Mint, 14 expect RBI to raise repo rate, the rate at which it lends to commercial banks, to 6.75%. Only one economist expects a 50 basis points hike to 7%.
Shares of HDFC ended 3% higher on BSE at Rs 1,811, as compared to a 0.83% gain in Sensex.
HDFC had posted a 54% rise in net profit to Rs 2,190 crore for the quarter ended 30 June compared with Rs 1,424 crore a year earlier. Net interest income during the quarter rose 20% to Rs 2,890 crore from Rs 2,412 crore year earlier. HDFC’s home loan book stood at Rs 3.72 trillion at the end of June.
Last month, SBI, the country’s largest lender, increased its benchmark lending rates or MCLR by 20 basis points. SBI increased the lending rate by 20 basis points across all tenors up to three years. The MCLR for a one-year tenor rose to 8.45% from 8.25% earlier.