Banks may not cut rates for now

SBI says it will happen sometime towards the end of the first quarter

Banks are unwilling to pare the interest rate on loans, at least for now. RBI on Tuesday kept the policy repo rate unchanged for the fifth consecutive time, which probably prompted lenders to delay their rate cut decision.

"Regarding lending rate cuts, I think it will happen sometime towards the end of the first quarter. Again, it is difficult for me to say because we still haven't had an asset liability committee meeting where we talk about it. But overall for the industry the feeling is that deposit rates need to come down," Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairman, SBI.