Deposit rates at peak, may now move down: State Bank of India chief

New Delhi, June 12

State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara has said that deposit rates have peaked and will move southward in the medium term.

The country’s largest lender also said the RBI may start easing the interest rate cycle from the third quarter of the current financial year.

Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left its key interest rates unchanged for the eighth time in a row, keeping the focus on inflation amid robust economic growth.

“We are hoping that in the third quarter starting from October, perhaps there would be some possibility of inflation trajectory moving towards 4 per cent, and that will be the right time when we can expect some interest cut (from RBI),” he said.

As far as the interest rate in the banking system is concerned, the SBI chairman said more or less they have already peaked.

“…I think, if we look at the medium-term trajectory of interest rate, perhaps it would be a downward trend,” he said.