BoB, Union Bank cut lending rates

Two public sector banks – Bank of Baroda (BoB) and Union Bank of India – cut their benchmark prime lending rates (BPLRs) by 50 basis points to 12 per cent.

But the benefit will accrue to customers only in the next financial year since the new rates will be effective from April 1.

Currently, the prime lending rate of the country’s largest lender – State Bank of India (SBI) – is 12.25 per cent, or 25 basis points higher than the revised rate of BoB and Union Bank. SBI had slashed its PLR by 75 basis points to 12.25 per cent from January 1, 2009.

A Union Bank executive said that its decision was taken in response to the RBI’s cuts in repo and reverse repo rates.