Banks sweeten home loans

The State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Bank of Baroda are leading a wave of fee waivers, discounts and special offers in home loans in the ongoing festive season, as they look to revive their sagging mortgage portfolios.

The State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Bank of Baroda are leading a wave of fee waivers, discounts and special offers in home loans in the ongoing festive season, as they look to revive their sagging mortgage portfolios.

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Bank of Baroda (BoB) will announce its special offer on Tuesday. Bank of Maharashtra and Corporation Bank are likely to provide special discounts on a case-by-case basis. But personal loans, considered risky, are a no-no in the scheme of things. “The focus to offer special offers is only for the home loan segment,” a senior official at a public sector bank said.

The State Bank of India, has already launched announced a waiver of processing fees for three months, while it reduced home loan rates earlier this year with an 8 per cent offer for new loans. BoB is also planning to waive fees for home loans and also cut rates by 0.25 percentage point from the current 8.5 to 9.5 per cent range.

“The reduction in rates and the plan to waive off the processing fee would boost the purchasing capacity of the consumers,” said M.D. Mallya, Bank of Baroda’s chairman and managing director.

ICICI Bank is scaling down rates currently in the 9.25 to 11 per cent range, but it is not a festival offer, said a bank executive.