Private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank hiked its minimum rate of lending or base rate by 0.25 per cent to 8.25 per cent,in line with peers across the industry. The Mumbai-headquartered bank's asset liability committee committee (ALCO) met today where a decision to review the rate was taken,it said in a statement issued here. "There has been a sharp hike in the deposit rates both on the retail and wholesale side. Base rate is driven by a formula and the hike in deposit rates triggered the increase," the bank's Group President Treasury Mohan Shenoy said. Many banks,including Union Bank,Punjab National Bank,Bank of India,IDBI Bank,Indian Bank,Indian Overseas Bank,Allahabad Bank,Dena Bank and Standrad Chartered Bank have hiked their base rates in the recent past. The base rate is the lowest rate below which banks cannot offer loans and was introduced in July to bring in more transparency,replacing the Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR). Kotak Mahindra Bank also hiked its BPLR by 0.25 per cent to 17 per cent for the old borrowers,Shenoy said.
