Bank of India says no hike in base rate for now
After India's largest lender, State Bank of India, and second largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, raised their minimum lending rates, or base rates, public sector lender Bank of India has ruled out following its peers for now.
"As of now I don't feel the need to increase the base rate," Bank of India chairperson and managing director Vijayalakshmi Iyer told reporters in Mumbai on Wednesday.
She, however, also said, "We also need to be in the market place. We have to watch out because my liquidity condition is very comfortable now and deposit growth in H1 was also quite significant."
"We will see and definitely take a call on base rate."
She said the bank's risk management committee is looking into the matter.
Earlier in the day, SBI revised its base rate by 20 basis points, or 0.2 per cent, to 10 per cent from 9.80 per cent. It also increased the benchmark prime lending rate by a similar amount from 14.55 per cent to 14.75 per cent.
It had raised its fixed deposit rate by 0.2 per cent on select maturity earlier this month.
HDFC Bank has also increased its minimum lending rate by 0.20 per cent to 10 per cent.
The move came after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week increased repo rate by 0.25 per cent to 7.75 per cent in its second quarter policy review. The hike was a second one in two months.
The RBI also lowered the marginal standing facility rate by 0.25 per cent to 8.75 per cent from 9 per cent.
