HDFC Bank revised its marginal cost of funds-based lending rates, also known as MCLR, on Thursday. The MCLR for overnight duration rose by 5 basis points to 8.95 percent.
The one-month MCLR is same at 8.95 percent. The 3-month MCLR has been raised from 9.10 percent to 9.15 percent. The new rates have come into force from March 7, 2024.
The MCLR rates for six months are same at 9.30 percent. The rates for one year duration are also same at 9.30 percent.
For two and three-year duration, the interest rates continue to be the same at 9.35 percent.
| Tenure | MCLR (%) |
| Overnight | 8.95 |
| 1 month | 8.95 |
| 3 months | 9.15 |
| 6 months | 9.30 |
| 1 year | 9.30 |
| 2 years | 9.35 |
| 3 years | 9.35 |
Base rate and PLR
The private lender has raised other interest rates also by 10 basis points. Now the bank’s base rate stands at 9.45 percent starting March 11, 2024 against 9.35 percent earlier.
The benchmark PLR (prime lending rate) also rose upward to 17.95 percent from March 11 onwards. Notably, base rate and prime lending rates were consistent since Sept 25, 2023.
What is MCLR?
RBI focused on making the benchmark rate transparent. It, therefore, introduced different ways to calculate the benchmark rates. Earlier, banks were supposed to follow prime lending rate (PLR) regime, which was followed by base rate and finally, MCLR were introduced.
MCLR is the minimum interest rate below which the bank is not supposed to lend to borrowers. Earlier, the minimum rate enforced by RBI used to be ‘base rate’.
HDFC Bank raised its MCLR rates last month also in the run up to the RBI’s monetary policy committee (MPC) that kicked off on Feb 6.
