The latest development from RBI indicates that borrowing money will become more costlier from here on.
RBI Hiking In MCLR
State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, has hiked the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) by 10 basis points (bps) across tenures.
This update makes most consumer loans such as auto or home loans costlier for borrowers.
These new rates are effective from 15 February, as per the information provided on SBI’s website.
SBI said that overnight MCLR rate has been revised upward by 10 bps to 7.95 per cent from 7.85 per cent, while that of one month tenure has been hiked by 10 bps to 8.10 per cent from 8.00 per cent.
During January, the three-month MCLR was raised to 8.10 percent from 8.00 percent.
On the other hand, the six-month MCLR stands revised at 8.40 percent from 8.30 percent earlier.
The new rate for one-year maturity will be increased to 8.50 percent against 8.40 percent according to the bank.
The two-year maturity, MCLR has also been hiked to 8.60 percent from 8.50 percent.
Similarly, the three-year tenure has been raised to 8.70 percent from 8.60 percent.
Here, the basic minimum rate at which a bank can give consumers loans is known as the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate or MCLR.
Back in 2016, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) established MCLR for the basis of determining the interest rates of different types of loans.
Later on, the RBI’s monetary policy committee raised the repo rate on 8 February, 2023 in an effort to tame inflation.
In its most recent statement, the central bank said that it has raised the repo rate by 25 bps to 6.50%.
How Does This Affect?
This will affect the Borrowers’ EMI or Equated Monthly Installments outgo as it will get expensive for those who take loans against the MCLR.
Notably, there is a reset-period for MCLR-based loans, after which the rates get revised for the borrower.
Several banks including Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Punjab National Bank have increased their lending rates following the RBI rate hike ultimately affecting their customers’ EMIs.
