HSBC ups base rate by 50 bps to 8.5%

The country's oldest foreign bank HSBC India today revised upwards its minimum lending rate by 50 basis points to 8.5%.

The new rate will be effective from tomorrow, the bank said in a release.

HSBC follows the industry in upping its lending rate, following continuous tightening of the monetary policy by the central bank to contain inflation.

The RBI has so far hiked its short-term lending and borrowing rate six times since last March and is expected to do so next week at its mid-quarter review of the January policy.

Almost all the banks, including the market leader SBI, and other PSBs and private sector lenders like ICICI and HDFC, Kotak have had also hiked their lending rates since the January policy.