Home loans need a more stable benchmark

Household Finance Committee provides suggestions on how participation of households can be enhanced

Have you ever tried shopping for a home loan? Chances are that you would be totally confused. While the basic benchmark, the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) stays the same, most banks use different tenures to calculate the rate. Some, like State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank use one-year MCLR while others like HSBC and Citibank use 3-month as benchmark. And some like ICICI Bank use two benchmarks — 6-month and one year MCLR. Then, there are different offers that give some 10 basis point benefit for women and so on.

Against this backdrop, the Reserve