SBI hikes retail term deposit interest rates up to 80 bps

State Bank of India

The State Bank of India (SBI) announced on October 21 that it has revised the interest rates of retail term deposits, i.e., deposits below Rs 2 crore, upward, up to 80 bps. SBI’s hiked deposit rates will be effective from October 22, 2022.

The announcement comes just days after the country’s largest commercial lender had increased the savings deposit rates by 30 bps for large accounts on October 18. "While interest rates for saving bank deposits below Rs 10 crore remain unchanged at 2.70 percent, down 5 bps, those Rs 10 crore or above will attract 30 bps more at 3 percent," SBI had said.

On October 17, SBI had lowered the deposits for small savers (under Rs 10 crore in savings deposits by 5 bps to 2.70 percent per annum.

The bank had also increased the lending rates (marginal cost of funds-based lending rates or MCLR) by 7.95 percent, up by 25 bps from the previous rate, which came into effect from October 15, for the benchmark one-year tenor, which is the rate against which most of the consumer loans are tied to. SBI raised the two- and three-year tenor MCLRs too to 8.15 percent and 8.25 percent, respectively from 7.90 percent and 8 percent. The overnight, one-, three- and six-month rates have been raised in the range of 7.60-7.90 percent.

As of June 2022, the bank has a deposit base of over Rs 40.46 lakh crore with a CASA ratio of 45.33 and advances of over Rs 29 lakh crore. The bank commands a market share of 33.3 percent (at over Rs 6 lakh crore in outstanding) and 19.3 percent in home loans and auto loans, respectively.

Banks have been witnessing a flight of money to other asset classes even as they were lending more. For many months, deposit growth has not been keeping pace with credit growth which in the first half averaged at 14.8 percent while deposits have been much lower at 9.5 percent only. In the past many years, deposits have been growing in the high single digits but credit has been negative or in the low, single digits.

(With PTI inputs)