Interest rates may rise after April 29

In the backdrop of soaring inflation, some top bankers on Monday said lending rates could go up to 0.5 per cent after the Reserve Bank's annual credit policy, which is widely expected to take stringent monetary measures to contain price rise.

Many expect the central bank to effect a hike in cash reserve ratio (CRR), the rate of amount all commercial banks need to keep with the Reserve Bank, in its annual credit policy on April 29.

A 0.50 per cent hike in CRR, aiming to suck out up to Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) liquidity from the system, could well imply a 0.25-0.50 per cent hike in lending rates across all major portfolios, bankers said.

A few banks might cut their deposit rates as well, they added. "SBI will be assessing the post-policy conditions... liquidity conditions are satisfactory at this point of time... (but) a hike in lending rates will be effected if necessary..." a senior State Bank official told PTI in Mumbai.

Many banks, including SBI, had revised their lending rates downwards early this year, heeding to calls from the government and the central bank.

Bank of Baroda's Retail Head Nandan Shrivastava expressed a similar view saying that any monetary action by the apex bank to contain inflation could lead to hardening of interest rates.

"If the apex bank takes some measure in its April 29 policy, liquidity will be affected and logically, interest rates will harden," he said.