SBI reduces home, auto and MSME loan rates; deposit rates also eased

New Delhi: The State Bank of India (SBI) has announced marginal reductions in key lending benchmarks and select term deposit rates, effective from 15 December.

The bank has reduced the rate on deposits with a tenor of 2 to less than 3 years to 6.40 per cent from 6.45 per cent. Senior citizens will receive a 50 basis points premium over this, with their rate cut to 6.90 per cent from 6.95 per cent. Other retail term deposit slabs remain unchanged, a statement said.

The changes apply to domestic retail term deposits below Rs 3 crore, as well as the Marginal Cost of Funds‑based Lending Rate (MCLR), the External Benchmark Linked Rate (EBLR), and the Base Rate.

Additionally, SBI has reduced the popular 444‑day “Amrit Vrishti” deposit rate to 6.45 per cent from 6.60 per cent.

How has SBI adjusted lending rates?

The bank has also eased borrowing costs for home, auto, and MSME loans by reducing MCLR rates across all tenors by five basis points.

The revised MCLR rates are as follows: overnight and one‑month to 7.85 per cent, three months to 8.25 per cent, six months to 8.60 per cent, one year to 8.70 per cent, two years to 8.75 per cent, and three years to 8.80 per cent.

Furthermore, the External Benchmark Lending Rate (EBLR), which is used to price many floating‑rate retail loans, was lowered by 25 basis points to 7.90 per cent from 8.15 per cent. The Base Rate, or BPLR, for a small segment of legacy borrowers has been cut to 9.90 per cent from 10.00 per cent, effective the same day.

Has the government injected capital into public sector banks?

Earlier this week, the government stated that there has been no capital infusion by the government in public sector banks since the financial year 2022-23. The government noted that these banks have “significantly improved their financial performance to turn profitable and strengthened their capital position.”

What impact could GST reduction have on inflation?

Meanwhile, SBI highlighted that the reduction in goods and services tax (GST) is expected to cut consumer price index (CPI) inflation by roughly 25 basis points in the September–November 2025 period and could reduce it by 35 basis points this fiscal (FY26), the bank said in a report.

IANS inputs