The RBI today announced it had deregulated savings bank deposit interest rate with immediate effect. The Savings bank account interest rate is among the last of the administered interest rates in the system. The RBI said banks are free to determine their savings bank deposit interest rate, subject to the following two conditions:
First, each bank will have to offer a uniform interest rate on savings bank deposits up to Rs 1 lakh, irrespective of the amount in the account within this limit.
Second, for savings bank deposits over Rs 1 lakh, a bank may provide differential rates of interest, if it so chooses. However, there should not be any discrimination from customer to customer on interest rates for similar amount of deposit.
The operational guidelines in this regard will be issued separately.