ICICI Bank relaunches teaser home loan rates

"Mortgages continue to be a focus area for ICICI Bank. We offer competitive rates in the market and currently the rates are 8.25 per cent for first year, 9 per cent for the second year and the existing floating rate thereafter," said a spokesperson of ICICI Bank.
Teaser rate is a special loan scheme under which a concessional rate is offered for a limited period to attract customers.

The re-launched scheme will continue till April end, the spokesperson said.Teaser rate scheme of ICICI Bank, which offered home loans at 8.25 per cent for 2 years and and existing floating rate thereafter, was discontinued from March 1, 2010.

The two other major financial institutions which are offering teaser rates are State Bank of India and HDFC. Last month, State Bank of India extended its 8 per cent special home loan scheme till April 30.

Under the SBI scheme, a home loan borrower will be required to pay 8 per cent in the first year and 9 per cent in the second and third years of the loan period.The State Bank had initially launched these products in August last year for a limited period of three months, but later extended it till March 31, 2010, and then again till April end.

Besides, HDFC re-introduced teaser rates last week. Under the scheme, borrowers can avail loans at 8.25 per cent till the end of the current financial year and 9 per cent till March 31, 2012.This is marginally higher than the previous scheme where HDFC had offered customers an interest rate of 8.25 per cent till March 31, 2012.

The statement said in order to ensure that the banking system does not suffer from capital adequacy constraints so as to support credit growth needed to sustain the economic momentum in 2010-11, the government has decided to infuse capital in PSBs.
The government has negotiated with the World Bank for two Banking Sector Support Loans (BSSL) totalling USD 3.2 billion, it said.Formalities in respect of the first tranche of USD 2 billion loan have already been completed, it said. A sum of Rs 15,000 crore has been provided in the Budget for the year 2010-11, it said.