Archive · 1 Oct 2026
RBI Reports Mixed Lending Rates, Falling Deposit Rates in August
The Reserve Bank of India released new information about bank interest rates.
The average rate on older bank loans fell a tiny amount in August.
The average rate on new loans went up during the same month.
This means lending rates moved in different directions.
The typical one-year MCLR rate fell in September.
More floating-rate loans were linked to outside benchmarks by the end of June.
Rates on existing term deposits also fell slightly.
Rates on new term deposits dropped more sharply in August.
The WALR on outstanding rupee loans fell marginally to 8.96% in August 2026 from 8.97% in July.
The WALR on fresh rupee loans rose to 8.61% from 8.52% during the same period.
The one-year median MCLR declined to 8.61% in September from 8.70% in August.
External benchmark-linked loans increased to 68.2% of outstanding floating-rate rupee loans by end-June.
The rate on fresh rupee term deposits fell to 5.67% in August from 5.85% in July.
- Who
- The Reserve Bank of India and scheduled commercial banks.
- What
- RBI data showed mixed movements in lending rates and declines in term-deposit rates.
- When
- The data cover August 2026, with some comparisons for September and end-June; the release was published on September 30, 2026.
- Where
- The data concern scheduled commercial banks’ rupee loans and deposits; no specific location was stated.
- Why
- The data were released to report movements in bank lending, loan-linkage, and deposit rates.
- Outstanding-loan WALR
- 8.96% in August 2026, down from 8.97% in July
- Fresh-loan WALR
- 8.61% in August, up from 8.52% in July
- One-year median MCLR
- 8.61% in September, down from 8.70% in August
- External benchmark-linked loans
- 68.2% of outstanding floating-rate rupee loans at end-June, up from 67.6% at end-March
- MCLR-linked loans
- 29.6% at end-June, down from 30.2% at end-March
- Outstanding term-deposit rate
- 6.56% in August, down from 6.58% in July
- Fresh term-deposit rate
- 5.67% in August, down from 5.85% in July