Stating that it does not foresee a rate war on the home loan front, the largest lender State Bank of India on Wednesday said it is targeting an uptick in housing advances at 18 per cent on good demand and its aggressive rate posturing. After a tepid 2014-15 on overall credit pick-up front, SBI is targeting to increase its overall loan growth to up to 15 per cent this fiscal as the economy has begun to look up, SBI Managing Director and Group Executive for national banking B Sriram told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.
“We don't foresee any rate wars, all the lenders are competing with similar rates in similar bands. It's good for customers, as they have a larger choice now,” Sriram said. The official, however, hinted at not reducing the auto loan spreads, as it did with home loans, saying it currently offers the most competitive rates and customers have already benefited from the 15 bps reduction in base rate last week. He added that the bank is targeting to increase its housing loan growth to 18 per cent in current fiscal against 14.5 per cent in the recently concluded 2014-15.