Bank of Baroda cuts lending, deposit rates by 25-50 bps

Bank of Baroda cut deposit rates by 25-50 basis points across various maturities on Friday. The bank also cut its Base Rate and Benchmark Prime Lending Rates by 25 basis points each.

This move follows the 50 basis points cut in the repo and reverse repo rates by the Reserve Bank of India.

A press release from BoB said the bank's Base Rate will be at 10.5 per cent and its BPLR will be 14.75 per cent with effect from May 1.

On Tuesday, after the RBI action, banks did not seem raring to take the cue, but they now appear to be giving in to Government and RBI pressure.

IDBI Bank was the first to flag off the rate cuts on Wednesday, with a 25 bps cut in lending rates and a 10-50 bps cut in deposit rates.

On Thursday, ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Maharashtra also announced cut in lending and deposit rates.

State Bank of India, the largest bank in the country is likely to announce a cut in auto loan rates soon. The SBI Chairman, Mr Pratip Chaudhuri, said the bank would cut rates in specific segments.

The move will result in lower home, education and auto loans rates for existing and new customers. Simultaneously, the returns from bank fixed deposits would also decrease following the cut in rates.