Mortgage lender HDFC increased its Retail Prime Lending Rate (RPLR) on housing loans, on which it’s Adjustable Rate Home Loans (ARHL) are benchmarked by 5 basis points, the company said in an exchange filing on May 1.
A host of large banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), hiked their marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) by 5-10 basis points last month. After the RPLR hike, HDFC’s adjustable-rate home loans for customers with a credit score of above 750 will now be 6.75 percent as against 6.7 percent earlier.
Loans of up to Rs 30 lakh, customers would be charged an interest rate of 6.85 percent. Loans ranging between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 75 lakh will have an interest rate of 7.10, and those above Rs 75 lakh will have an interest rate of 7.20 per cent. For women customers in all segments, the interest rate is 5 basis points lower.
Adjustable-rate home loan (ARHL) is also known as a floating or a variable rate loan. The interest rate in an ARHL is linked to HDFC’s benchmark rate i.e, RPLR, and any movement in HDFC’s RPLR may effectuate a change in the applicable interest rates.
The increase in lending rates comes after the Reserve Bank of India’s hawkish stance in the recently concluded monetary policy meeting last month as it turned its focus to tackle inflation from supporting growth.
Due to the ultra-accommodative monetary policy stance and excess liquidity in the system for the last two years, interest rates are at an all-time low with many lenders offering mortgage loans as low as 6.5 percent.
