ICICI Home to revise loan rates in 10 days

ICICI Home Finance Company Ltd will revise its existing rate of interest (RoI) on home loans immediately after Diwali, a senior company official said here on Friday.

Though the official declined to specify whether it would be an upward revision, he indicated that both floating as well as fixed rates will be revised.

Rajiv Sabharwal, chief operating officer (COO), ICICI Home Finance, told Business Standard today, "ICICI Home Finance is going to revise its existing interest rates in the next seven-ten days and we believe that the change would not have any adverse impact on our business.

"While I cannot say whether the interest rate will be hiked and by how much percentage, I can only say that against our existing RoI of 7.25 per cent in the floating rate segment, there is no possibility of a rate cut except festive offers of seven per cent for a few days. ICICI also does not think that lowering of the existing interest rate of 7.75 per cent in the fixed segment would help us to bring in more business."

He was talking on the sidelines of Home Utsav, a property exhibition here, on Friday.

Saying that ICICI Home does not believe in cutting price to increase disbursement figures on the face of competition, Sabharwal said, "If we hike the RoI definitely it would be done in both the fixed and floating segments. While during the first half of the last fiscal year ICICI Home disbursed Rs 5,096 crore as home loans, the first six months of the current fiscal year has seen a whopping growth as by the end of September 2004, the company disbursed home loans of Rs 8,221 crore."

He also said that irrespective of a revision, ICICI Home Finance would be able to maintain its growth during the second half.

To woo home loan seekers who opt for buying a new house before Diwali, ICICI Home Finance has organised a three-day long property exhibition in Ahmedabad and the idea may be replicated in elsewhere in the country, where customers would get opportunity to borrow for their houses at a cheaper RoI compared to that would be offered during normal days.

"During such exhibitions, consumers can get a home loan at an equated monthly installment as low as Rs 776 per lakh for 20 years as we will offer spot sanctions on home loans at a special rate of seven per cent for up to 20 years on a adjustable rate basis," he said.