Kolkata: ICICI Bank is the second largest bank in the country. It is also one of the most technology-intensive banks that makes life easy for its millions of customers. ICICI Bank has slashed interest rates on its fixed deposits. These are retail FD ie, those where the amount of deposits are less than Rs 3 crore. Let’s check the new rates.
When Reserve Bank of India began slashing interest rates — Repo Rate to be precise — in February this year, after a gap of five years, experts saw it as the beginning of an interest rate downcycle. The MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) of the central bank unanimously trimmed Repo Rate by 25 basis points in February and followed it up in April, prompting almost all banks to trim both lending rates and those on deposits. The deposit rates are of special significance to millions since a large number depends on interest income to defray their regular living costs and many of them are elders and retirees, ie, those who are financially in their vulnerable years.
Rates slashed by up to 20 basis points
ICICI Bank divides its FDs into 11 categories according to tenure of investment. Each FD carries two interest rates — the rate paid to senior citizens is 50 basis points higher than that paid to general customers (those under 60 years). The following are the rates:
- 7 to 45 days: 3% (general), 3.5% (senior citizens)
- 46 to 90 days: 4.25% (general), 4.75% (senior citizens)
- 91 to 184 days: 4.75% (general), 5.25% (senior citizens)
- 185 to 270 days: 5.75% (general), 6.25% (senior citizens)
- 271 days to less than 1 year: 6% (general), 6.5% (senior citizens)
- 1 year to less than 15 months: 6.5% (general), 7% (senior citizens)
- 15 months to less than 18 months: 6.6% (general), 7.1% (senior citizens)
- 18 months to 2 years: 6.85% (general), 7.35% (senior citizens)
- 2 years 1 day to 5 years: 6.75% (general), 7.25 (senior citizens)
- 5 years 1 day to 10 years: 6.7% (general), 7.2% (senior citizens)
- 5 years (Tax Saver FD): 6.75% (general), 7.25% (senior citizens)
ICICI Bank states that interest rates on fixed deposits can be changed without any prior notice to the customers. Any FD which are new and renewed will attract the new revised rates of interest. And all interest payouts are subject to extant TDS rules applicable.
Since interest rates are on a downcycle in India, key policy rates could progressively climb down with retail inflation rates providing a tailwind to the process of the central bank bringing down the cost of funds to boost consumption in the country and raise growth rate of the economy. Personal Finance Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
