Karur Vysya Bank to cut base rate, benchmark prime lending rate

Private sector lender Karur Vysya Bank Thursday said it will slash its base rate and benchmark prime lending rate to 7.75 per cent and 12.75 per cent, respectively, with effect from December 15, 2021.

Private sector lender Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) on Thursday said it will slash its base rate and benchmark prime lending rate to 7.75 per cent and 12.75 per cent, respectively, with effect from December 15, 2021.

The lender will cut its base rate by 0.25 per cent to 7.75 per cent. It will also revise downwards the benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by a similar margin to 12.75 per cent.

"We advise that the base rate and BPLR of the bank would be revised with effect from December 15, 2021," KVB said in a regulatory filing.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Reserve Bank kept its key repo rate -- at which it lends money to banks -- unchanged at 4 per cent for the 9th straight time, to support growth keeping in mind the concerns over the new variant of the coronavirus.

Base rate refers to the minimum rate for all loans and banks are not permitted to resort to any lending below the base rate. Banks are required to review the base rate at least once in a quarter.

In banking parlance, the BPLR means the Benchmark Prime Lending Rate. With the introduction of Base Rate, BPLR is made applicable normally only on the loans which have been sanctioned before the introduction of Base Rate.

The base rate system replaced the BPLR system with effect from July 1, 2010.

Shares of KVB were trading at Rs 50.57 apiece on BSE, up 4 per cent from the previous close.