New Delhi
If you were expecting better interest by depositing money in a savings account or fixed deposit (FD) in ICICI Bank, then this news may be desperate for you. ICICI Bank, one of the country’s big private banks, has cut interest rates on both FD and savings accounts. ICICI has announced a cut in interest rates, disappointing those investing in fixed deposits (FD). This decision has come at a time when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently cut the repo rate. After this, the State Bank of India (SBI) and then HDFC Bank also made changes in the deposit rates and now ICICI Bank has also stepped in the same direction.
ICICI Bank has reduced interest rates from 0.25% to 0.50% on many of its FD schemes. These new rates of the bank have come into effect from 17 April. This deduction in interest rates will affect customers more who have been invested in FD for some time or are considering. After the new change, the bank is now paying interest ranging from 3 percent to a maximum of 7.05 percent on fixed deposits to general customers, while interest rates for senior citizens start from 3.5 percent to 7.55 percent. 7.25 percent and senior citizens used to get 7.85 percent interest, which has now been reduced.
The maximum impact has been on FD schemes with short duration of 30 to 45 days. Earlier, the interest rate for this period was 3.50 percent, which has now come down to just 3.00 percent. Similarly, the interest rate on the deposit scheme of 61 to 90 days has been reduced from 4.5 percent to 4.25 percent. The bank has also reduced the interest rate by 0.20 percent for FDs from 18 months to two years, which is now 7.05 percent.
This change has come at a time when investors are looking for safe options and FD has been traditionally considered to be reliable investment means. However, due to low interest rates, people can turn to other options instead of FD, especially those who want better returns.
Senior citizens may be getting some more interest, but returns can be deducted for them as compared to before. In such a situation, it is necessary for new investors to compare bank rates and decide whether to FD on current interest rates is really beneficial.
