🏦 At a glance (≈50 words)
Why bank interest rates still high 2025 is the year’s hottest rant. RBI chopped repo to 5.5 %, yet personal loans sit at 16 % and credit cards at 36 %. 😡 We unveil the sticky-rate scam, rank the worst offenders, and hand out hacks to escape daylight robbery.
1. Hall-of-Shame Leaderboard 🏅
| Bank | Personal-Loan APR | Credit-Card APR | Repo Pass-Through? |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC | 15.9 % | 41.2 % | 🦥 |
| ICICI | 16.5 % | 40.8 % | 🦥 |
| Axis | 15.5 % | 42.0 % | 🦥 |
| SBI | 14.4 % | 39.7 % | 🐢 |
| Kotak | 16.9 % | 41.5 % | 🦥 |
Legend: 🐢 = Slow, 🦥 = Glacial.
2. Excuses vs Reality 🤔
Excuse A: “Unsecured risk premium.”
Reality: Your risk didn’t jump 50 bps the same minute repo climbed last year.
Excuse B: “System upgrades take time.”
Reality: They text you a late-fee SMS in 3 seconds flat.
3. Sticky-Rate Economics 🧮
- Each 50-bps “delay” on personal loans boosts bank net interest margins by ≈ ₹1,200 Cr a quarter across the system.
- That’s bigger than some mid-cap IT companies’ annual profit. 😳
4. Escape Plan 🏃♂️💨
- Balance-transfer blitz: Fintech NBFCs offering 10.9 % takeover.
- Secured top-up + foreclosure: Swap a 9 % home-equity loan for a 16 % personal loan.
- P2P lending: 11–12 % if your CIBIL > 760.
- Convert card dues: 0 % EMI for 6 months beats 36 %.
5. Open Letter to “Dear Bank CEO” ✉️
“You moved rates up faster than my chai cools. Now repo is down and you’ve misplaced the calculator? Maybe check under the dividend pile.”
6. What RBI Could Do (But Probably Won’t) ⚖️
- Enforce a 45-day mandatory transmission window.
- Name-and-shame leaderboard on RBI homepage.
- Penal CRR for serial laggards (our personal favourite 🔥).
7. EduInvesting Take 🎤
If why bank interest rates still high 2025 keeps you up at night, remember: inertia funds bankers’ bonuses. Refinance, negotiate, or flee. Don’t subsidise their lattes.
Author: Prashant Marathe
Date: 7 June 2025
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