ICICI BANK CUTS HOME LOAN RATES

Bank on Monday slashed home loan rate by up to 0.3% for loans of up to ₹30 lakh, bringing it in line with the country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI).

ICICI Bank said in a statement that it has reduced interest rates by up to 30 basis points for home loans up to ₹30 lakh in its bid to boost affordable housing.

With this reduction, salaried borrowers can avail home loans at among the lowest rates in the industry, the country’s largest private sector lender said. Salaried women borrowers will get home loans at 8.35% and others at 8.40%, it said.

Last week, SBI reduced its affordable home loan rates by up to 25 basis points, offering a lower rate of 8.35% to new women borrowers. With around 26% market share, SBI is also the biggest player in the home loan segment.

HDFC, the second-largest player in the space, offers loans at 8.65% to women for loans up to ₹75 lakh and 8.7% for others.

Other lenders are expected to follow SBI and ICICI to stay in the competition. With the current paring of rate, ICICI Bank said its customers taking home loans in the affordable segment will also have the option to select the type of interest rate. In both these cases, the reduction in interest rates is 30 basis points. They can enjoy the benefit of floating interest rate or a fixed interest rate for the initial two/three years followed by floating rate.