SBI hikes interest rates on fixed deposits by up to 50 basis points

Mumbai: The country's largest lender SBI has announced an interest rate hike of up to 50 basis points for fixed deposits on select tenors.

Under the revised rates effective from Wednesday, a deposit for between 180-210 days will fetch an interest of 5.75 per cent per annum as against the 5.25 per cent earlier, as per information available on the bank's website.

Similarly, a deposit for 7-45 days will earn 3.50 per cent interest as against 3 per cent earlier, it said.

Other tenors which have seen hikes of 0.25 per cent include the 46-179 days bucket (revised rate of 4.75 per cent), 211 days to less than a year (revised rate of 6 per cent) and three years to less than five years (revised rate 6.75 per cent), as per the bank.

The move comes at a time when some bankers have been complaining about a 'war for deposits' in the system amid the high credit growth.

In the recent past, some lenders, including Kotak Mahindra Bank, have hiked their offerings.

SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara on Wednesday said the hike has been prompted by the need to offer a "fair deal" to the depositors.

"We had some elbow room available, so that's the reason we have done this," he said while speaking at the banking and economic conclave organised by the lender in the financial capital.