Bank of Baroda cuts benchmark lending rate by 10 bps, makes loans cheaper

State-owned Bank of Baroda (BOB) on Monday cut its benchmark lending rate by 10 basis points to 6.75 per cent.

The lender’s home loan rates now start at 6.75 per cent and for cars at seven per cent after the revision in the Baroda Repo Linked Lending Rate (BRLLR). it said in a statement.

Mortgage loan rates start at 7.95 per cent and education loan rates start at 6.75 per cent.

BOB stock was trading 1.23 per cent up at Rs 78.3 per share on BSE.

The reduction in BRLLR makes loans more affordable for the customers, said Harshadkumar T. Solanki, the bank’s general manager for Mortgages and Other Retail Assets.

BOB’s retail credit rose by 13.8 per cent to Rs 1,16,046 crore in 12 months to December 2020 (Q3Fy21) from Rs 1,01,995 crore in December 2019 (Q3Fy20). The total advances grew by 6.3 per cent to Rs 7,45,420 crore in December 2020 from Rs 7,01,267 crore in December 2019.

Its net interest income was up 8.65 per cent from Rs 7,132 crore in quarter ended December 2019 to Rs 7,749 crore in quarter ended December 2020. Its net interest margin (NIM) for domestic business showed improvement at 3.07 per cent in Q3Fy21 as against 2.88 per cent in Q3Fy20.