ICICI Bank has raised its marginal cost-based lending rates (MCLR) across all tenures by up to 10 basis points (bps). The interest rates hike will be effective from today, 1 March 2023, according to the bank’s website.


The overnight, one-month MCLR rate has been hiked to 8.50 per cent. The three-month, six months MCLRs at ICICI Bank have been hiked to 8.55 per cent, and 8.70 per cent respectively, as per the website. The one-year MCLR has been raised to 8.75 per cent.


The benchmark one-year MCLR is used in calculating most consumer loans starting from auto, personal to home loans.The basic idea behind the MCLR regime is to provide banks with a uniform benchmark lending rate for different tenors that can be reset every month. 


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How the loan rate hike will impact borrowers?


Those who are paying EMI or Equated Monthly Installments linked to MCLR will have to shell out more as the loan will get expensive now.


Your EMI payment rises in tandem with an increase in your home loan's interest rate (both EBLR and MCLR). So it means whether the rise in rates will impact entirely depends on the benchmark to which your loan is related.


Other entities including housing finance major HDFC and state-owned banks such as Punjab National Bank and Bank of India also raised their lending rates up to 25 basis points (bps) effective today.


According to the ICICI Bank website, "ICICI Bank External Benchmark Lending Rate" (I-EBLR) is referenced to RBI Policy Repo Rate with a markup over Repo Rate. I-EBLR is 9.25% p.a.p.m. effective September 30, 2022.”


The hike in rates came after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last month raised repo rate by 25 bps to 6.5 per cent. This was the sixth hike in interest rates since May last year, taking the total quantum of increase to 250 basis points.


Following the rate hike, the country's biggest lender State Bank of India hiked the MCLR by 10 basis points across tenures. The new rates came into effect from February 15. Private sector Kotak Mahindra Bank too increased its lending rates by 5 basis points across tenures.