ICICI Bank lowers lending rates by 10 bps

The second largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has cut its lending rates by 0.10 percent which will make all the loans cheaper, sources said Monday. The move comes weeks after it cut its deposit rates and amid calls for banks to quickly pass on the benefits of rate cuts by the RBI, which stands at a full 75 bps since February. The bank has cut its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) across all tenors by 0.10 percent, they said adding the new rates are effective immediately.

The one-year MCLR, to which a majority of loans like residential mortgages and auto loans are tied, now stands at 8.65 percent, they said. Top private sector lenders, including ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank had initiated deposit cuts between 0.10 and 0.25 percent in the middle of June across select buckets. It remains to be seen if other banks have also followed suit by announcing reductions in their rates.

At the June 6 review, the Reserve Bank had said banks have cut rates by a measly 0.21 percent as against the 0.50 percent cut in key rates, and had asked banks to do more. The same day, it cut the key policy rate by another 0.25 percent and also hinted at further easing by shifting its stance to accommodatory from neutral, taking the total quantum of rate cut to 0.75 percent in 2019. The RBI initiated the rate action with an eye to prop up the sagging growth amidst a sustained period of inflation trending below the 4 percent set for the central bank as part of the medium-term inflation targeting framework.

ICICI Bank