Bank of Baroda (BoB) has joined the bandwagon of public sector lenders to cut the interest rate on retail (home and car) loans. The bank is now offering home loans for a limited period—till Sept-ember -end—at the base rate—10.5 per cent, irrespective of the tenor.
The Mumbai-based lender has also reduced the interest rate on vehicle loans by 25 basis points (bps) for the same period. It will now offer car loans at 11.25 per cent and 11.75 per cent for the repayment period below five years and above five years, respectively.
Though it has reduced the interest rate by 25 basis points for the existing as well as the new customers outside the offer period, it is higher than the other public sector banks. It will now charge an interest rate of 10.75 per cent, instead of the earlier 11 per cent, for the home loan takers below Rs 30 lakh for a repayment period up to five years. For the same loan it will charge an interest rate of 11 and 11.25 per cent, respectively, for the repayment period between 5-15 years and 15-25 years. Earlier it was charging 11.25 and 11.50 per cent, respectively, for the loans between 5-15 years and 15-25 years.
Most of the other public sector lenders are, however, giving home loans at the base rate. Central Bank of India is offering home loans up to Rs 30 lakh across the tenors at the base rate—10.5 per cent. The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), had taken the lead in slashing retail lending rates immediately after the Reserve Bank of India’s first quarterly monetary policy review. SBI’s home loan rate now stands at 10.25 per cent for loans up to 30 lakh.
It has also reduced the interest on trader loans by 100 bps. The bank will now charge 13.5 per cent instead of earlier 14.5 per cent.