More banks cut rate by up to 0.9 pc

Joining the rate cut bandwagon, major banks, including HDFC Bank and Canara Bank, today slashed their lending rates by up to 0.9 percentage point to make home and other loans cheaper to customers.
The move will help bring down cost of home, auto and other loans linked to marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR).
Following reduction, the one-year MCLR rate of state-owned Canara Bank has come down to 8.45 per cent, down by 0.7 percentage point.
Similarly, country's second biggest private lender HDFC Bank also cut its benchmark lending rate by up to 0.90 percentage point, joining over a dozen banks and housing finance companies that have slashed rates in last few days.

The bank's asset liability committee decided for a cut of 0.75-0.90 per cent in marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) across multiple tenures.
Even though IDBI Bank and State Bank of Travancore had announced cuts in the last week of 2016, the reduction in lending rate by major banks got-off with country's largest lender SBI slashing its offerings by a flat 0.90 percentage point on Sunday, a day after being exhorted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help the poor and marginalised sections.

SBI has reduced its one-year MCLR to 8 per cent and ICICI Bank has brought down to 8.20 per cent.

Earlier in the day, mortgage firm DHFL too reduced its home loan lending rate by 0.5 per cent in line with competitors.
Following the reduction, rates on home loan for various maturities will vary from 8.60 per cent to 9.10 per cent.
The government's recent decision to provide interest rate relief to home buyers and to those who wish to plan a home in 2017, as well as several past initiatives have created a growth-enabling and conducive environment for the housing finance sector, DHFL CEO Harshil Mehta said.