Small savings

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee today remained non-committal on reviewing the interest rates on central government sponsored small savings deposits.

The finance minister, who was here to inaugurate a three-day management development programme of MDI, Murshidabad, did not comment when he was asked if the government would review the interest rates on small savings, which were last revised in 2003.

Following the recommendations of the Thirteenth Finance Commission, the finance ministry had in July 2010 constituted a seven-member committee led by Reserve Bank deputy governor Shyamala Gopinath to review the administration of the National Small Savings Fund.

The committee submitted its report more than a month ago with suggestions to increase interest rates on post office savings deposits to 4 per cent. 

The report said interest rates on other small saving deposits should be linked to yields on government securities of similar maturity with some positive spread.

Had the finance ministry implemented the panel recommendations, interest rates on small savings would have increased to 8.5-9 per cent, and a lot of small investors particularly in the rural areas would have benefited.

Banks raising loan rates

A clutch of banks today raised their lending rates by hefty 50-75 basis points in response to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increasing the repo rate by half a percentage point earlier this week.

Both Bank of Baroda (BoB) and Allahabad Bank has raised the base rate by 50 basis points to 10.75 per cent and the benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by a similar margin to 15 per cent.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) raised its base rate and BPLR by a steeper 75 basis points to 10.75 per cent and 14.25 per cent, respectively.

Mumbai-based Central Bank of India also raised its base rate by 75 basis points to 10.75 per cent, while IDBI Bank raised its BPLR by the same margin to 15.25 per cent.

The interest rate hikes have been undertaken keeping in view the measures announced by the RBI, inflation and liquidity scenario.

On Thursday, Canara Bank and Bank of India raised their minimum lending rates by 50 and 75 basis points, respectively. The new rates will come into effect from August 1.

However, the RBI’s 50-basis-point increase in the repo rate has also brought good news to savers. PNB today said it would raise deposit rates by 75 basis points in select maturity buckets from August 1.

BoB hiked interest rates on term deposits by 50 basis points in maturity buckets of 7 to 14 days, 15 to 45 days, 46 to 90 days and 91 to 180 days to 4.75 per cent in the first 3 maturity points and 7 per cent in the 91 to 180 day maturity period.

The Central Bank of India raised its deposit rates by 40 basis points in the short term.