SBI Cuts Prime Lending Rate

State Bank of India (SBI) India’s largest bank has decided to reduce its prime lending rate by 75 basis points. The cut in interest rate is effective today, and was hammered out last week when the Chairmen of India’s 28 largest state owned lenders met with the Finance Minister P Chidamabaram. State owned commercial banks, account for around 96 per cent of the domestic credit market, and have agreed to cut benchmark prime lending rates in an effort to spur economic growth.

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SBI to Open 1500 Branches Next Year

The Business Standard Reported at the end of October that India’s largest bank, State Bank of India plans to open more than 1500 in the next calendar year. The bank recently reported a 40.4 percent increase in net profit, and the branch expansion plans were revealed during the press conference by bank Chairman OP Bhatt.

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What is The Repo Rate?

The Repo Rate is the official short term lending rate set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Repo is short for repurchase, and the full form is repurchase agreements. Outside of India, a repurchase agreement is usually a private interbank borrowing and lending practice. Banks will own certain kinds of what are known as liquid assets, usually government bonds, or the highest rated corporate debt which are short term in nature, ensuring that they have the deepest markets.

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