SBI not to hike lending rates immediately

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SME Times News Bureau | 20 Mar, 2010
The State Bank of India on Saturday said that it has no plans to hike lending rates immediately, and would wait for further signals from the Reserve Bank to arrive at any decision.

"There is no plan to hike our lending rates immediately. We will wait till the April policy (of the RBI) to take a call (on hiking lending rates)," SBI Chairman O P Bhatt was quoted by a news agency.

The SBI Chairman said that there was sufficient liquidity in the banking system currently.

The Reserve Bank of India Friday hiked repo and reverse repo rates (short-term lending and borrowing rates) by 25 basis points each to 5 percent and 3.75 percent, respectively in a bid to tame the price rise by sucking excess money out of the system.

Bhatt added the Reserve Bank may tighten its monetary stance further in the 2010-11 annual policy next month.

"Further monetary tightening is expected in the April policy," he said.