Sensex surges more than 700 points led by gains in financial stocks
The BSE Sensex on Thursday was trading at 73,755 points, up by 758 points or 1.04 per cent, led by gains in the financial stocks.
Private lender ICICI Bank on Friday reduced its interest rate on home loans to 6.70 per cent, at par with market leader SBI, as part of a limited period offer.
The second largest private sector lender said the interest rate offer, which is valid till March 31, is the lowest in 10 years.
The new home loan rates are effective from March 5, the bank said, adding borrowers of up to Rs 75 lakh will get credit at 6.70 per cent, while those above that threshold will need to pay 6.75 per cent.
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“We see resurgence in demand from consumers, who want to buy homes for their own consumption, in the past few months. We believe that this is an opportune time for an individual to buy his/her dream home, considering the prevailing low interest rates,” ICICI Bank’s head for secured assets Ravi Narayanan said.
“We believe that with our completely digitised home loan process, including instant sanction for customers of any bank, everybody will find it immensely convenient to avail a home loan with us,” he added.
SBI cut its rate first to 6.70 per cent to best rated borrowers, which was followed up quickly by smaller rival Kotak Mahindra Bank that slashed its rate to 6.65 per cent and non-bank leader HDFC also reviewing it down.
In November 2020, the bank had crossed the Rs 2 lakh crore mark in mortgage loan portfolio, becoming the first private sector lender to attain the mark.
It had also informed during its latest quarterly results that its mortgage disbursements increased in December quarter over July-September and reached an all-time monthly high in December 2020.
The growth in the mortgage portfolio was also aided by the Bank’s expansion of footprint across the country, including tier 2, 3 and 4 cities.
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