Mumbai: Retail and corporate loan rates may
stay the same as bankers on Tuesday ruled out any increase in
lending rates in the next three to four months, thanks to the
RBI keeping almost all key rates unchanged.
"I do not see any change in the interest rates till March.
There is no liquidity problem in the system and credit off-
take is less than expected," Corporation Bank Executive
Director Asit Pal told agency.
The RBI, in its quarterly monetary policy today, has said
the credit growth is unlikely to meet 20 per cent target.
It has increased the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), the
minimum amount the bank must park in government securities, by
one percentage point to 25 per cent. But has retained the repo
rate at 4.75 per cent and reverse repo at 3.25 per cent, the
rates at which banks borrow and lend funds to the central
bank.
Increase in SLR is just a notional issue. As it is, the
banking system has over 27 per cent in SLR, Pal said.
IDBI Bank Executive Director Sushil Munhot said the
signal is quite clear that the RBI does not want to hurt
growth, but wants to check inflation. It is nevertheless a
signal of reversal of easy monetary policy.
PNB General Manager Treasury S K Dubey said, interest
rates would stay stable in the coming months as credit is not
picking up.
According to ABN Amro Bank Country Head Meera Sanyal,
"There would not be immediate increase in interest rates but
pressures on rates would start building up in the next few
months."
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 15:37