Why the RBI's repo rate cuts have not (yet) led to cheaper loans
India TodayFollowing a meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee on August 7, the Reserve Bank of India once again cut its repo rate-the rate at which it lends to commercial banks-by an unexpected 35 basis points, rather than the customary 25 basis points. Following the latest rate cut, the cumulative back-to-back reduction in the repo rate this year has been to the tune of 110 basis points, with the rate currently at 5.4 per cent. Thus, despite the RBI's repo rate cuts, the interest rate on banks' outstanding loans has climbed, rather than falling. Despite RBI's unexpected rate cut of 35 basis points, Indian stock markets slid as the central bank revised the GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal to 6.9 per cent from 7 per cent earlier. "The focus has to be more on transmission of the rate cuts to the lending rates, as a 75 basis point cut in the repo rate has only translated to a 29 basis point reduction in the lending rate on fresh rupee loans during Febuary to June 2019," says Arun Singh, chief economist, Dun & Bradstreet India.