No reduction in home loan rates now: HDFC

A day after Finance Minister P Chidambaram pitched for lower interest rates on home loans up to Rs 20 lakh, private sector housing lender Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) today said it was not possible now to lower lending rates.

"If you ask if there is any possibility of reducing the interest rate, I will say no right now... because the market becomes tight in March due to corporate tax payment," Renu Sud Karnad, joint managing director, HDFC, said today.

When asked if she saw any scope for reduction in interest rates, Karnad said: "I cannot say this with certainty... but it is sure that interest rate will not go up further."

HDFC lowered its prime lending rate by 0.25% to 13.25% last month.