EMI to go down as SBI cuts home loan rates

In good news for home buyers, the State Bank of India (SBI) has slashed home loan rates to a 9.1% as a part of the festive scheme.

This home loan rate cut is the lowest in six years and comes after the bank reduced its benchmark rates by 15 basis points.

For women, home loans will be available for 20bps above the benchmark rate, which means at 9.1%, whereas for others, home loans will be available at 9.15%.

The bank has also waived off all processing fees. With this reduction, SBI's cheapest home loans are now 20bps lower than ICICI Bank and HDFC's cheapest home loan rate of 9.3%.

SBI MD Rajnish Kumar told TOI, "The rate cut will bring down the equated monthly instalment on a Rs 50-lakh loan by Rs 542 per month. Since March, the EMI has come down by over Rs 1,500."

The public sector bank is not leaving any stone unturned to overcome extremely sluggish growth in loans.

In a bid to grab market share, SBI is offering lower rates on takeover of loans.

(Image: Thinkstock)