Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Cut in base rate better than spread reduction

Since the beginning of this year, banks have been lowering interest rates for home loan borrowers. Union Bank of India (UBI) set the mood for a rate cut in January with a 10-basis-point (bp) reduction in the base rate (100 basis points = one percentage point). After the Reserve Bank of India cut the benchmark lending rate last month, many banks (Punjab National Bank, Central Bank of India and ICICI Bank) reduced their base rates by up to 25 bps. A bank can’t lend below its base rate............

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