Mr Shailendra Bhandari, Managing Director and CEO, ING Vysya Bank, said: “Today's policy is a clear shift in the monetary policy stand highlighting the intensifying downside risks to growth. While the policy rate hike was as we had expected, it looks like the rate hike cycle is close to peaking. There will continue to be some inflationary pressures from administered prices, but the focus will now be on growth and therefore we may not see further rate hikes. The focus will now be on how growth pans out. The candid policy statement and much clearer visibility on the monetary policy outlook are very welcome trends and should help anchor expectations and reduce uncertainty.
The deregulation of savings bank rates is further step towards liberalising interest rates. It may not result in an immediate sharp rate increase, but in the long run could add relative value to banks that are more efficient.’’