Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Nov 11, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Nov 11, 2003 |
|
|
|
|
|
Home Page
-
Interest Rates Money & Banking - Housing Finance ICICI Bank cuts deposit, home loan rates Our Bureau
Mumbai , Nov. 10 CLOSE on the heels of State Bank of India cutting deposit rates last week, ICICI Bank on Monday announced a 25-50 basis points reduction in domestic deposit rates in various maturities. The bank has also trimmed on the interest rate on floating rate home loans by 25-50 basis points, perhaps triggering the next stage of the on-going rate war on the home loan turf. The reduction in deposit rates will be applicable only to renewals and fresh deposits on or after November 14, 2003, said a press release from ICICI Bank.
ICICI Bank's new rates are comparable to SBI's rates except in the 180 days to 1-year category where SBI offers a lower rate of 4.75 per cent. The move is in line with the prevailing easy liquidity position and declining interest rates trends in the market, said a press release from the bank. The cut on deposit rates by the two largest banks in the country is likely to see many other banks also review their rates in coming days.
On the home loan front, ICICI Bank, one amongst the top three players in the housing sector, announced a cut of 25-50 basis points on floating rate home loans and a 50 basis points slash in its home prime lending rate. The 0.5 per cent reduction in the ICICI Home Prime Lending Rate to 9.75 per cent will pass the benefits of falling interest rates to existing floating rate customers in addition to the new customers, said a press release from the bank. The home prime lending rate (PLR) is the benchmark home loan rate based on which all related home loan rates are calculated. ICICI Bank cut its home PLR four times in the last two years. The bank has changed the maturity buckets of the floating rate home loans and the new rates will be effective from November 11. The new rates will also be available on balance transfer schemes in force. The earlier rates had been as follows: upto 5 years 7.75 per cent, 6-10 years 8 per cent and 11-20 years 8.25 per cent. Asked whether the bank had triggered the next level of the ongoing rate war in the housing sector, said Ms Chanda Kochhar, Executive Director, ICICI Bank. "We do not think so, instead we are only passing on the benefits of our lower cost of funds and the soft interest rate bias to our new and existing customers.'' HDFC officials were not available for comment. As a special festival offer, ICICI Bank will also dispense floating rate loans of all tenors (up to 30 years) at a uniform rate of 7.5 per cent, till November 26.
Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | Home |
Copyright © 2003, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|