SBI not to up deposit, lending rates: O P Bhatt

Country's largest lender, State Bank of India, on Wednesday said it does not plan any hike in its lending or deposit rates in the near-term as the liquidity situation was evolving in the right direction.

"Till September, there will be no increase in our deposit rates," SBI Chairman, O P Bhatt, told reporters on the sidelines of a CII-organised conference here. There were no plans to hike its newly-introduced base rate or its lending rates as well in the "near-term", Bhatt said.

"The liquidity in the system is not as much as it used to be...but that is not to say that funds are not available to banks--they are available," Bhatt said.

However, adding a caveat, he said that there could be pressure on liquidity as advanced tax payments start in September.

On fund-raising by State Bank of Mysore, Bhatt said that the bank plans to raise around Rs 500-crore (Rs 5 billion) by end-this year. The merger of State Bank of Indore with SBI which will formally happen tomorrow will be "absolutely smooth" especially considering SBI's prior experience at amalgamating with sister banks that started with State Bank of Saurashtra last year, he said.