Mumbai: Infrastructure finance company Srei became the first lender to increase its benchmark rate following the Reserve Bank's hike in key lending rates. The company increased its benchmark rate by 75 basis points, from 16.75 per cent to 17.50 per cent, it said in a release here. The apex bank raised its key rates by 25 bps points to 8.25 percent, the 12th hike since last March, in a bid to batten down inflation, which stood at an elevated 9.78 percent in August. "Hike in key policy rates by RBI to contain high inflation and the resultant increase in interest rates by banks has necessitated this hike. We hope that any more rate hikes by RBI will be minimal as the high interest rates have already slowed the growth momentum," Srei Infrastructure Finance Chairman and Managing Director Hemant Kanoria said. The NBFC added that its Asset Liability Management Committee met on September 13 and decided to increase its benchmark rate in line with the upward moving interest rates in the domestic market. Srei, having a customer base of over 30,000, has a pan-India presence with a network of 77 offices and three offices in Russia.