Punjab National Bank (PNB) has revised interest rates on fixed deposits on select maturities with effect from today (1 July). The bank has lowered the interest rate on maturities with tenures of 7 to 14 days and 15 to 29 days, according to the banks' website. The bank is offering 5.5% interest rate to general customers and 6% to senior citizens for 7- 14 and 15-29 days. Earlier the bank was offering 5.75% interest rate on FDs of up to ₹2 crore for maturity periods between 7-45 days.
For one-year FDs, PNB is offering 7% rate of interest. For maturity term of more than one year and up to three years, PNB offers 6.75% interest rate. On FDs maturing between three years and 10 years, PNB is offering 6.25% interest rate.
Senior citizens will continue to get an additional rate of interest of 0.5 per cent on their deposits.
Earlier, top banks like ICICI, Axis and HDFC had initiated deposit cuts between 0.10% and 0.25% in the middle of June on select maturities.
In another development, ICICI Bank has cut its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) across all tenors by 0.10%. The new rates are effective immediately. The one-year MCLR, to which a majority of loans like residential mortgages and auto loans are tied, now stands at 8.65%.
At the June 6 review, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had said banks have cut rates by a measly 0.21 percent as against the 0.50 percent cut in key rates, and had asked banks to do more. The same day, it cut the key policy rate by another 0.25 percent and also hinted at further easing by shifting its stance to accommodatory from neutral, taking the total quantum of rate cut to 0.75 percent in 2019. The RBI initiated the rate action with an eye to prop up the sagging growth amidst a sustained period of inflation trending below the 4 percent set for the central bank as part of the medium-term inflation targeting framework.
