Auto Loans Doubled in August: SBI

Bangalore: State Bank of India said its car loan disbursals almost doubled to 900 crore in August, following an interest rate cut. The disbursals jumped to 900 crore from the earlier 550 crore in July on the back of 0.50 percent cut in its auto loan offering, chairman Pratip Chaudhuri told reporters. The Bank Chairman said the rise in advances has been observed even as the nation's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki's production has dipped due to internal issues. State Bank of India cut interest rates on auto and home loans in the first week of August, after the Reserve Bank of India cut the SLR (statutory liquidity requirement) holdings which was preceded by a raising of limits on export refinance. Both the moves made additional liquidity available for the bank which the bank decided to pass on, without announcing a cut in its base rate or the minimum rate of lending. "The home loan impact will take some time to come, but car loans have gone up significantly," Chaudhuri said.