Mumbai: Largest private sector lender ICICI Bank on Thursday marginally reduced its base rate to 9.70 percent from 9.75 percent earlier, making its lending rate at par with industry leader SBI and that of HDFC Bank.
"The revised rate, effective tomorrow, will be 9.70 percent per annum as against 9.75 percent at present with effect," the bank said in an exchange filing.
This is the second base rate reduction by the bank since April this year. In April, it had slashed base rate by 0.25 percent to 9.75 percent.
SBI was the first of the block to reduce its base rate earlier this month after RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan in the June 2 monetary policy statement urged banks to pass through the sequence of rate cuts into lending rates.
SBI had reduced its base rate by 15 basis points to 9.70 percent. The second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank followed suit last week by slashing its base rate by 0.15 percent to 9.70 percent.
Post the June 2 policy mid-sized state-owned Allahabad Bank also cut its base rate by 0.3 percent to 9.95 percent from 10.25 percent.
Meawhile, another private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank also on Thursday hinted at a base rate cut.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an industry event in the city, Kotak Bank chief Uday Kotak said he sees the lending rates coming down. Kotak however, did not offer any details.
He also expected the RBI to cut rates more if the monsoon keeps its momentum going forward.
