Axis Bank hikes MCLR by 5 bps across tenors, follows other lenders

Banks change lending policy to keep up with monetary policy committee's raising repo rate

Axis Bank has increased its marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) by 5 basis points (bps) across tenors from August 18.

The private lender revised its lending rate after the central bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) on August 5 increased benchmark policy rates by 50 bps earlier this month, taking the repo rate to 5.40.

According to Axis’s website, overnight and one-month MCLR stand at 7.85 per cent; three-month MCLR is at 7.95 per cent; six-month at 8 per cent; one-year at 8.05 per cent; two-year at 8.15 per cent; and three-year at 8.20 per cent.

Earlier this week, State Bank of India (SBI) increased its MCLR by 20 bps across tenors. Kotak Mahindra Bank and Federal Bank also increased their MCLR. Kotak Mahindra Bank’s MCLR for loans ranging from overnight to three-year brackets are in a band of 7.35 per cent to 8.60 per cent. Federal Bank has announced MCLR for overnight to one-year loans in the range of 8.25 per cent to 8.50 per cent.

HDFC Bank, IDFC First Bank, and Canara Bank, are some other private and state-owned lenders to raise their MCLR.

The MPC has increased the repo rate by 140 bps since May to tame headline inflation, which has been above the tolerance limit of the central bank for quite some time now, taking the repo rate to 5.40 per cent. The repo rate was raised by 40 bps in May, and then by 50 bps in June. The MPC again decided to raise the benchmark policy rate, repo rate, by 50 bps in June.