Bankers today hinted at a stable interest rate regime despite the Reserve Bank's move to hike cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 0.5% to 7.5% to suck out excess liquidity.Two of the country's largest lenders said interest rates were unlikely to change, and that the hike in CRR could be absorbed."SBI will not change any rates for the time being, and whether interest rates will come down or go up is for individual banks to decide," State Bank of India chairman and managing director O P Bhatt told reporters here.ICICI Bank joint managing director Chanda Kochhar said: "This amount of CRR hike could be absorbed... There should not be much change in the interest rates despite some pressure on net interest margins.""The policy has to be seen in the context of what has happened this quarter...That huge liquidity is there and continues to pour in is a matter of concern," Bhatt said.The bankers, however, felt that it was for individual banks to decide whether to absorb the hike, which translates into an outgo of about Rs 15,000 crore, or pass it on to borrowers.Bhatt, too, admitted that there were pressures on net interest margins of the bank.UCO Bank chairman and managing director S K Goel said there maybe a possible reduction in deposit rates to reduce the cost of funds.
