State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday set off a rate war, offering home loans as cheap as 8.5%, the lowest in six years. ICICI Bank Ltd slashed its rate in response, a move that will likely be followed by a host of other lenders, many of whom have already cut their benchmark lending rates.

SBI also introduced a a hybrid loan product which allows customers to tie up a fixed-rate loan for the initial two years, which will get repriced later.

Private sector lenders ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank and state-owned lenders Central Bank of India and Dena Bank on Monday reduced the marginal cost of funds-based lending rates (MCLRs) with effect from January 1.

While ICICI Bank’s one-year MCLR now stands 70 basis points (bps) lower at 8.2%, the corresponding figure for Central Bank came down 85 basis points (bps) to 8.5%. Dena Bank lowered the MCLR by 75 bps to 8.55% and Kotak Mahindra Bank cut the MCLR by 20 bps to 9%.

The country’s largest bank State Bank of India (SBI) announced a steep interest rate cut in several years on Sunday, by reducing its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 90 basis points (bps) across all maturities.

With this cut, SBI has passed on benefit of 200 bps since January 2015 to customers, which is more than 175 bps reduction in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) policy rate cut in the same period.

Even as 50 days have passed since the announcement of demonetisation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, cash crunch continues as only 35-40% of the 2.2 lakh ATMs in the country are dispensing cash, according to leading deployers. What has increased woes of many people is the fact that most of the ATMs are dispensing only Rs 2000 notes. Moreover, banks are yet to start over-the-counter payments in Rs 500 notes properly. Reason: The number of Rs 500 notes available is very less and it would take more time for the situation to normalise.

State Bank of India (SBI) rejected reports that Rs 1,300 crore cash has been deposited in its various branches in Arunachal Pradesh after demonetization saying no such deposits were found after minutely verifying the relevant records.

SBI Regional Manager Sakya Sinha Bairagi in a statement today said, "We have verified all our relevant records minutely and found that no such deposits were made in any branch of the SBI in the state under Itanagar region." He said, the Itanagar region (SBI) has 43 branches out of which 26 are in Arunachal Pradesh.

The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), is in talks with Microsoft to utilise technology that will enable digital banking in rural areas with little access to telecom networks.

Microsoft’s India-born Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is looking at the country as a major market to implement its so-called “white space” and “wide area WiFi or Wide-Fi” technologies — a concept that taps unutilised spectrum of television stations and cable TV network for internet access.

MUMBAI: State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, and a few other banks are expected to announce a cut in lending rates effective early January, said people with knowledge of the matter.

That could give consumption a much-needed boost, having slumped in the wake of demonetisation as people are unwilling to spend on non-essential items amid a currency shortage. People considering home and car purchases can look forward to cheaper rates due to the liquidity that's flooded the banking system with the deposit of old notes, especially since corporate loan demand remains weak. SBI couldn't be reached for comment.

A consortium of lenders led by State Bank of India (SBI) plans to sell a plant of ANG Industries for at least R17.49 crore and has mandated SBI Capital Markets (SBI CAPS) to look for a buyer, a bid document showed.

“SBI Capital Markets Limited (SBICAP) has been mandated by SBI on behalf of consortium of lenders, to identify an interested bidder (“IB”) for sale of a plant ANG Industries Ltd situated at address 19-A, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh , under a slump sale method,” it said.

MUMBAI: State Bank of India's arm is planning to come out with credit cards for anyone who has a Rs 25,000 fixed deposit in any bank. The card will not have any charges and will be available without any proof of income or a credit history. The bank's subsidiary, SBI Cards, also plans to issue credit cards to students of top 100 educational institutions in India without any income proof.

Mumbai, Dec. 18: The rise in digital transactions following demonetisation has had a positive impact on SBI Buddy, the 19-month-old e-wallet from the country's largest bank.

The number of transactions has increased almost four times, with daily transaction at around 80,000. During the period ended September, the product had more than five million registrations.

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