ICICI Bank says too early for lending rate cuts

Any cuts in lending rates by Indian banks will depend on credit pickup and overall liquidity situation, even after the central bank cut the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), the chief executive of top private lender ICICI Bank said on Tuesday.

The RBI on Tuesday left interest rates unchanged for the second straight review, but unexpectedly cut the SLR, the minimum requirement for banks' government bond holdings, to 23 percent of deposits from 24 percent, in a move to free up liquidity.