The country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank on Thursday said lending rates will start going up any time now, quite contrary to the SBI chairman's projection that borrowers can breathe easy till Diwali.
The Reserve Bank kept bank rate unchanged at 6 per cent, short-term borrowing (reverse repo) was kept intact 6 per cent, lending (repo) at 7.75 per cent. Cash Reserve Ratio, a statutory deposit by commercial banks with the central bank, was retained at 7.5 per cent.
RBI is likely to keep interest rates stable in the near term, revealed Moody's. It may also ease its monetary policy stance later in the year.
In the backdrop of an over four-decade high inflation, the US Federal Open Market Committee has raised its key policy interest rate by 75 basis points to 2.25-2.50 per cent, anticipating that the increase in the interest rates will be "appropriate". Hiking interest rates typically cool demand in the economy, thereby putting a brake on the inflation rate. The US Federal Reserve in its June meeting too raised the interest rate by 75 basis points, which was the steepest hike since 1994.
Bankers see upward pressure on interest rates after the Reserve Bank raised two key short-term rates in the busy season credit policy of October.
With inflation moderating slightly in recent weeks, HDFC chairman, Deepak Parekh, hoped that there would be no further interest rate hikes even though there was a feeling in the market that the peaking interest rates could go up by another 0.5 per cent.
Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Chairman Deepak Parekh on Tuesday said that interest rates may rise owing to higher inflation, but lending rates are unlikely to change in the next one month.
Since February 2025, the RBI has reduced the policy rate by 100 basis points. In its previous policy review in June, it had trimmed the repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.5 per cent.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Bimal Jalan on Wednesday said the apex bank's stance on soft interest rate environment will continue while it will remain flexible for repo rate.\n\n\n\n
'In the long run, India's strong growth story and reforms to make assets globally attractive will determine the rupee's resilience.'
One of the implications of rising interest rates that deserves more attention than it gets in the current discourse is that of deteriorating credit quality.
"Clearly there is a slowdown in the number of deals. . . interest rates have gone up from eight per cent in the past to now 12 per cent and prices too have gone up but an asset bubble is not there," ICICI Bank Joint Managing Director Chanda Kochhar told PTI. She said that a correction was expected as the present slowdown was in number of deals and not so much in prices.
'Economic activity appears to have peaked in the second quarter of FY26, with industrial output, exports, and business confidence all softening from October 2025.'
The country's largest public sector lender State Bank of India on Thursday said that it does not expect the interest rates to go up in the short term.
The government is closely watching the movement of prices of five essential items -- steel, cement, sugar, wheat and rice -- besides that of oil in the global market despite inflation dropping to over a two-year low of 3.35 per cent, Finance Minister
'The next phase of India's IPO cycle will be defined by quality, pricing discipline and investor selectivity.'
Asset quality stress has ballooned recently, as growth slowed and interest rates continued to rise.
Aiden Markram and Mitchell Santner's individual performances could potentially decide the outcome of the T20 World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
Credit rating agency ICRA expects interest rates in the Indian economy to harden, which together with a slowdown in agriculture growth, will put pressure on industrial activity and profitability of the banking sector.
Economic growth projected at 8.5 per cent for 2007-08; Inflation to be close to 5 per cent.
Given the extremely good liquidity situation in the economy, interest rates are likely to remain stable in the next six months, K V Kamath, managing director and CEO, ICICI Bank said.
RBI's deregulation drive on saving interest rates has created a competitive environment.
The Great Shamsuddin Family is a seemingly light chamber piece that hides its claws of social commentary under the chirpy banter of an apartment full of women, observes Deepa Gahlot.
The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday left all the key interest rates unchanged in the first quarterly review of the monetary policy.
IDBI Bank has hiked interest rate by 0.25 per cent on fixed deposits having maturity of 365 days and above, effective from Monday.
Institute of Economic Growth has warned that rising foreign exchange demand and global interest rates may weaken the rupee and slow down forex accumulation, which is expected to touch $106 billion by March.
The Central Board of Trustees of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) today decided to retain the previous year's interest rate of 8.5 per cent for the current fiscal.
Consumers may not have got any respite from high interest rates, but they also need not be apprehensive about further increase with the Reserve Bank of India giving a clear signal for stable monetary policy stance.
Even if the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee decided to hold interest rates in the October meeting, it acknowledged the scope for further rate cuts while waiting for the impact of the past steps to play out.
RBI Governor has been under pressure from Finance Ministry.
Reserve Bank of India should introduce interest rate options based on Indian rupee benchmark, a financial derivative instrument, to meet future financing requirements of clients, according to the representatives of leading private banks.
SBI reduced interest rates for minor irrigation loans upto Rs 25 lakhs to eight per cent in the first one year and nine per cent in the second and third years. The existing rates in this category is 10.5 per cent-13,25 per cent.
'There is a fortune in stolen money, counterfeit notes floating around, and political skullduggery afoot, along with treachery, double dealing, kidnapping and all manner of wickedness packing the series so densely that the pace never flags and a profusion of twists keeps the story engaging even when it strains credibility,' notes Deepa Gahlot.
Interest rates give an idea about the state of a national economy.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley hailed the decision of RBI to cut the interest rate, saying it is positive for the Indian economy and will certainly help in reviving the investment cycle the government is trying to restore.
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