SBI lowers lending rates by 10 bps for 5th time since April
Mumbai: To cash in on the forthcoming festive seasons and to better utilise the excess liquidity, State Bank announced the fifth rate cuts on Monday by another 10 basis points across tenors, effective Tuesday.
With this lending rate reduction, the bank has lowered 40 bps so far this fiscal year in five successive rate cuts beginning April. The new rates are effective Tuesday, the nation's largest lender said in a statement.
Accordingly, the one-year marginal cost-based lending rate--to which all its retail lending rates are linked, is down to 8.15 percent from 8.25 percent earlier- which is the lowest in the industry now.
The bank, which has linked almost all its loan and deposit products to the repo rate, has also slashed its retail term deposit rates by a higher 20-25 bps and bulk term deposit rates by 10-20 bps across tenors, effective Tuesday.
The lender attributed the falling interest rate scenario and surplus liquidity for realigning its loan and deposit pricing.
In April when it had slashed the first time by 5 bps, its one-year MCLR was at 8.55 percent. Similar cuts were effected in May and July, while it went in for for a higher 15 bps reduction in August, yanking down the benchmark rate to 8.25 percent. And with the latest cut, it's down to a multi- year low of 8.15 percent--the lowest in the industry.
Its nearest rivals HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank offer 8.30 and 8.35 percent respectively after their 10 bps reduction in the past two weeks.
However, it can be noted that lending rates are still much higher than the RBI's benchmark rate of 5.40 percent-- which is at a nine-year low after in four successive moves, the central bank cut the repo rates by a cumulative 110 bps since February.
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Private bus operators in Karnataka to hike fares by 20-30 pc after fuel price rise
Bengaluru (PTI): In the wake of the hike in fuel prices, private bus operators have decided to increase fares by 20-30 per cent, depending on the route, effective from Friday midnight.
They have also called for government subsidies, a reduction in cess, and lower road taxes to improve the situation.
"The situation for bus owners in the state is already distressing due to high road tax and the impact of the Shakti scheme (free bus travel for women in government buses). On top of this, fuel prices have increased," Karnataka State Bus Owners’ Association President S Nataraj Sharma said.
"This will impose a burden of Rs 15,000 per vehicle per month on bus owners. If an owner has three buses, the burden will be Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000 per month," he added.
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Speaking to reporters, he said the situation has made it inevitable for owners to increase fares by 20-30 per cent, depending on the route, under current conditions.
The increase may be roughly Rs 200 per seat, he added.
"For example, the current bus fare from Bengaluru to Belagavi is around Rs 1,000–Rs 1,200, which is likely to rise to Rs 1,350–Rs 1,400. Similarly, fares from Bengaluru to Mangaluru or Udupi currently range from Rs 900–Rs 1,000 and are expected to go up to Rs 1,100–Rs 1,200," he said.
Petrol and diesel prices were each hiked by Rs 3 per litre on Friday, the first rate increase in more than four years, amid mounting losses for fuel retailers due to surging global crude prices in the wake of the West Asia conflict.
The increase comes a couple of weeks after the Assembly elections concluded in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry.
