SBI Reduces Lending Rates Following RBI’s Repo Cut

State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest public sector bank, has lowered its home loan interest rate by 25 basis points to 8.25%, effective February 15, 2025. The bank also reduced its External Benchmark Based Lending Rate (EBLR) by 25 basis points to 8.90%. This move follows the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) recent decision to cut the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% on February 7, 2025, signaling an easing in the monetary policy stance.

As of December 2024, SBI’s home loan portfolio stood at Rs. 7.92 trillion, up 14.26% year-on-year, comprising 22.94% of its domestic loan book. However, the rate cut may further compress its Net Interest Margin (NIM), which slipped to 3.01% in Q3FY25 from 3.22% a year earlier.