Deposit rate cuts at private banks likely to lag State Bank of India

Having cut rates, they may use this to strategically raise more term-liabilities

The State Bank of India’s (SBI’s) move to slash deposits rates ranging between 20 basis points (bps) and 75 bps across tenors may offer private banks a window to corner cheaper term-deposits. While they may follow the SBI’s lead, it is unlikely that they would try to match the country’s largest bank while cutting their deposit rates.

On Monday, the SBI cited surplus liquidity and a falling interest rate scenario to rejig its deposit rates. Effective August 1, the bank will cut its rates by 50-75 basis points (bps) on time-deposits of up to 179 days duration; and for longer