Hdfc, Icici Slug It Out On Home Loans Front
A fierce rate war has erupted on the home loan turf. Hours after Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC) announcing a 25 basis points rate cut on its loans as well as deposits, ICICI Home Finance matched the move by bringing down its rates by an identical margin.
Effective October 17, the interest rate on loans offered by HDFC on fixed basis stands revised at 10.5 per cent (from 10.75 per cent) for five years, 12 per cent (12.25 per cent) for 10 years, and 12.5 per cent (12.75 per cent) for 15 years for all loans exceeding Rs 2 lakh. In the case of loans under Rs 2 lakh, HDFC has reduced the rate to between 10.5 to 11.5 per cent (against the earlier 10.75 to 11.75 per cent).
HDFC has also brought down its retail prime lending rate (PLR) by 50 basis points to 12 per cent. Effectively, the adjustable home loan product will be based on the revised retail PLR from today onwards. ICICI Home Finance does not have any floating rate product.
ICICI Home Finance revised rates downwards on all loans irrespective of their size. While HDFC is offering 12.25 per cent loans for the 11 to 15 years slab, ICICI is charging the same rate for the 11-20 year slab. In the 21-30 years slab, ICICI