The Reserve Bank of India has cut the repo rate thrice this year, totalling 100 bps. While it held the repo rate unchanged in its monetary policy meeting in early August, SBI recently hiked the home loan interest rate for new borrowers. Note that the increase in home loan interest rates affect only new borrowers.… Continue Reading
The Reserve Bank of India recently cut Repo rate by 0.25% from 6.25% p.a. to 6.0% p.a. You have heard that the rate cut by the Reserve Bank will lead to lower EMI. However, despite this rate cut, let’s say, your loan EMI has not gone down. What could be the reasons and what can… Continue Reading
When you apply for a loan, your primary aim is to reduce the interest rate of the loan. And that’s a fair concern too. We assume that the interest (the cost of the loan) will be calculated properly. However, the Reserve Bank of India, the banking regulator, has found during examination that certain lenders have… Continue Reading
The interest rates have been going down for over a year now. I have written many times about how banks and housing finance companies are reluctant to pass on the lower rates or move you to a more transparent interest rate regime (Base Rate to MCLR or MCLR to Repo Rate Linked loans). Even if… Continue Reading
Loan EMI and credit card payment moratorium comes to an end on August 31, 2020. While it is possible that the moratorium will be extended, you can’t be sure until RBI makes an announcement. As a borrower, what should you do? Irrespective of what the Reserve Bank decides, you must have a Plan B. You… Continue Reading
I came across an interesting case in a business daily a few weeks back. A consumer forum bench directed ICICI Bank to pay Rs 55,000 to a borrower. Here is how this happened. The borrower signed up for a home loan of Rs 30 lacs for 10 years from ICICI Bank in 2006. The loan… Continue Reading
The bank must link all new floating rate loans to retail customers loans from October 1, 2019 to an external benchmark. The Reserve Bank notified the change in its circular dated September 4, 2019. This means MCLR will soon be history, at least for retail borrowers. Starting October 1, no new floating rate loans will… Continue Reading
SBI had introduced home loans linked to RBI Repo rates as the benchmark in July 2019. This was before the RBI mandated all fresh floating rate loans to retail borrowers from October 1, 2019 to be linked to an external benchmark. SBI had used Repo rate linked lending rate (RLLR) as the benchmark. RLLR was… Continue Reading