Union Bank may soon cut interest rates on retail loans

Union Bank of India will reduce interest rates on home and education loans next month if its net interest margins (NIM) remains strong, Mr M.V.Nair, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank said.

The bank would take a call on reducing interest rates on the retail side (such as home and education loans) after the NIM data for February is available, he told newspersons here.

Mr Nair's remarks come close on the heels of State Bank of India's move to reduce education loan rates by 1 percentage point. Union Bank's NIM in end December was 3.3 per cent. The bank had in December last year reduced its base rate by 0.1 percentage points to 10.65 percent.

On overseas expansion, he said that the bank was looking to open a subsidiary in the UK and was awaiting the regulatory nod of the UK authorities. The bank has already received the go ahead from the Reserve Bank of India.

Union Bank is also looking to open branches in Belgium and Sydney, besides offices in Dubai, Shanghai and Beijing.

krsrivats@thehindu.co.in