The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced revised guidelines on interest rates offered by commercial banks on deposits, aiming to bring greater transparency and uniformity in the banking system. The new rules will come into force on October 1, 2026.
Issued under the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Interest Rate on Deposits) Second Amendment Directions, 2026, the guidelines require banks to offer the same interest rate on deposits of identical amounts accepted on the same day, irrespective of the branch where the deposit is made.
Uniform Interest Rates Across Branches
Under the revised framework, banks must apply the interest rates that have been officially declared and published on their websites. Customers depositing the same amount on the same day at different branches of the same bank must receive identical interest rates.
The RBI has made it clear that varying interest rates for identical deposits accepted on the same day is not permitted and will be treated as a violation of the regulatory framework.
Daily Disclosure of Bulk Deposit Rates
To improve transparency, the central bank has also prescribed a timeline for publishing bulk deposit interest rates.
Commercial banks will be required to update their bulk deposit rates on their official websites by 10 am on every business day. A grace period of 10 minutes has been provided, making it mandatory for the updated rates to be available online no later than 10:10 am.
Limited Flexibility Under LCR Norms
The RBI has allowed banks to maintain limited variations in interest rates for bulk deposits under the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) framework. However, any such variation must be supported by objective financial parameters and cannot be based on arbitrary decisions.
Effective From October 1
According to the RBI, the revised directions have been finalised after examining feedback received from banks and other stakeholders on the draft guidelines released in June.
The central bank said the changes are intended to promote fairness, improve transparency in deposit pricing and ensure that customers receive equal treatment when placing deposits with banks.