HDFC Bank Ltd.

HDFC Bank and Dhanalaxmi Bank are among the few private sector banks that have pegged their base rate below State Bank of India's rate of 7.50 per cent. The base rates of banks ranges from a low of 7.00 per cent to a high of 8.75 per cent. ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have pegged their base rate at par with SBI's.

Among the banks that announced their base rate on Wednesday, Dhanalaxmi Bank and DBS have fixed their rate at 7 per cent, while HDFC Bank has pegged it at 7.25 per cent. Public sector banks have announced a base rate ranging from 7.75 per cent (Corporation Bank) to 8.25 per cent (Indian Overseas Bank, Syndicate Bank and Dena Bank).

Bank of India, Canara Bank, IDBI bank, Indian Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce have pegged their base rate at 8 per cent. Bankers say that a lower base rate will not translate into lower interest cost for borrowers as banks will suitably load product-specific charges to the base rate to protect their net interest margins.