Definition of different RBI Rates

Base Rate - 

It is the minimum rate of interest that an individual bank is allowed to charge from its customers. Unless mandated by the government, RBI rule stipulates that no bank can offer loans at a rate lower than Base Rate to any of its customers. Your home loan will always be equal to or more than the Base Rate but never lower than Base Rate.

Bank Rate -

 This is the rate (long term) at which central bank (RBI) lends money to other banks or financial institutions. If the bank rate goes up, long-term interest rates also tend to move up, and vice-versa. When bank rate is hiked, banks hike their own lending rates.

Repo rate -

Repo (Repurchase) rate also known as the benchmark interest rate is the rate at which the RBI lends money to the banks for a short term. When the repo rate increases, borrowing from RBI becomes more expensive. If RBI wants to make it more expensive for the banks to borrow money, it increases the repo rate similarly, if it wants to make it cheaper for banks to borrow money it reduces the repo rate.

Reverse Repo rate is the short term borrowing rate at which banks park their short-term excess liquidity with the RBI. The RBI uses this tool when it feels there is too much money floating in the banking system. An increase in the reverse repo rate means that the RBI will borrow money from the banks at a higher rate of interest. As a result, banks prefer to keep their money with the RBI instead of lending it.

Repo Rate signifies the rate at which liquidity is injected in the banking system by RBI, whereas Reverse Repo rate signifies the rate at which the central bank absorbs liquidity from the banks.

CRR – Cash Reserve Ratio - 

Banks in India are required to hold a certain proportion of their deposits in the form of cash. However Banks don’t hold these as cash with themselves, they deposit such cash(aka currency chests) with Reserve Bank of India , which is considered as equivalent to holding cash with themselves. This minimum ratio (that is the part of the total deposits to be held as cash) is stipulated by the RBI and is known as the CRR or Cash Reserve Ratio.

When a bank’s deposits increase by Rs100, and if the cash reserve ratio is 9%, the banks will have to hold Rs 9 with RBI and the bank will be able to use only Rs 91 for investments and lending, credit purpose. Therefore, higher the ratio, the lower is the amount that banks will be able to use for lending and investment. This power of RBI to reduce the lendable amount by increasing the CRR, makes it an instrument in the hands of a central bank through which it can control the amount that banks lend. Thus, it is a tool used by RBI to control liquidity in the banking system.

SLR – Statutory Liquidity Ratio -

 Every bank is required to maintain at the close of business every day, a minimum proportion of their Net Demand and Time Liabilities as liquid assets in the form of cash, gold and un-encumbered approved securities. The ratio of liquid assets to demand and time liabilities is known as Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR). RBI is empowered to increase this ratio up to 40%. An increase in SLR also restricts the bank’s leverage position to pump more money into the economy.

Call Rate - Inter bank borrowing rate – 

Interest Rate paid by the banks for lending and borrowing funds needed for daily use. After Lehman Brothers went bankrupt Call Rate skyrocketed to such an insane level that banks stopped lending to other banks