Bank Terms

What is a Repo Rate?
Whenever the banks have any shortage of funds they can borrow it from RBI. Repo rate is the rate at which our banks borrow rupees from RBI. A reduction in the repo rate will help banks to get money at a cheaper rate. When the repo rate increases borrowing from RBI becomes more expensive.

What is a Reverse Repo Rate?
Reverse Repo rate is the rate at which Reserve Bank of India (RBI) borrows money from banks. Banks are always happy to lend money to RBI since their money is in safe hands with a good interest. An increase in Reverse repo rate can cause the banks to transfer more funds to RBI due to these attractive interest rates. It can cause the money to be drawn out of the banking system.
Due to this fine tuning of RBI using its tools of CRR, Bank Rate, Repo Rate and Reverse Repo rate our banks adjust their lending or investment rates for common man.

What is a CRR rate?
Cash reserve Ratio (CRR) is the amount of funds that the banks have to keep with RBI. If RBI decides to increase the percent of this, the available amount with the banks comes down. RBI is using this method (increase of CRR rate), to drain out the excessive money from the banks.

What is a Bank Rate?
Bank rate is the rate at which RBI gives to the commercial banks. Whenever RBI increases its rates, the effect will be shown on the commercial banks. In this case, the commercial banks have to increase the interest rates for their profits.

What is SLR Rate?
SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) is the amount a commercial bank needs to maintain in the form of cash, or gold or govt. approved securities (Bonds) before providing credit to its customers. SLR rate is determined and maintained by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) in order to control the expansion of bank credit.

OVERDRAFT:- It is the loan facility on customer current account at a bank permitting him to overdraw up to a certain agreed limit for a agreed period ,interest is payable only on the amount of loan taken up.

PRIME LENDING RATE: It is the rate at which commercial banks give loan to its prime customers.