The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in order to improve transparency and ensure speedier monetary policy transmission has said that all banks will have to follow a new uniform methodology from the next fiscal (April 1, 2016) for calculation of base rate on the basis of the marginal cost of funds. The apex bank stated that marginal cost pricing of loans will help the banks become more competitive and enhance their long run value and contribution to economic growth.
The new lending rates, Marginal Cost of Funds-based Lending Rate (MCLR), will be computed based on banks' marginal cost of borrowing, or incremental cost of funds, rather than the average cost of funds that banks have used so far. Apart from helping improve the transmission of policy rates into the lending rates of banks, these measures are expected to improve transparency in the methodology followed by banks for determining interest rates on advances.
As per the RBI notifications, the MCLR will be a tenor linked internal benchmark and the actual lending rates will be determined by adding the components of spread to the MCLR. Banks will have to review and publish their MCLR of different maturities every month on a pre-announced date. If a bank's cost of borrowing is eight per cent now but tomorrow the incremental cost of funds becomes 7.5 per cent, the marginal cost of borrowing for the computation purpose will be 7.5 per cent, rather than the average of the two as was previously being used.
Banks will have the option to offer loans with reset dates linked either to the date of sanction of the loan/credit limits or to the date of review of MCLR. The periodicity of reset shall be one year or lower. RBI has further said that the MCLR prevailing on the day the loan is sanctioned will be applicable till the next reset date, irrespective of the changes in the benchmark during the interim period. It also said that existing loans and credit limits linked to the Base Rate may continue till repayment or renewal, as the case may be. Existing borrowers will also have the option to move to the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) linked loan at mutually acceptable terms.
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