With looming possibilities of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) during the next monetary policy committee (MPC) meet in December, three-year fixed deposits (FD) may be of interest for those wanting to lock their savings before a rate cut can potentially happen.
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What will happen if the RBI cuts rates?
This is because if the RBI cuts the repo rate (which is the rate at which the banks can borrow from the RBI), the banks may also reduce their lending rates and interest rates on deposits.
What are the current three-month fixed deposit rates for various banks?
The following table lists out all the current rates of seven various banks including both private and PSU banks.
| Bank | General (%) | Senior Citizens (%) |
| HDFC Bank | 7 | 7.5 |
| ICICI Bank | 7 | 7.5 |
| SBI | 6.75 | 7.25 |
| Punjab National Bank | 7 | 7.5 |
| Union Bank of India | 6.7 | 7.2 |
| Federal Bank | 7 | 7.5 |
| Kotak Mahindra Bank | 7 | 7.6 |
Source: Websites of the individual banks
Read More: Interest Rate Cut At This Stage Could Be Premature, Risky: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das
As it can be seen, most of the private sector banks have a slightly higher FD interest rate, with the highest for Kotak Mahindra Bank’s senior citizen FD at 7.6%.
The least interest rate is currently for Union Bank of India’s FD for the general population who are not seniors, at 6.7%.
It is also important to remember that fixed deposit returns are also taxable and their returns aren’t always the highest especially when in comparison to other investment instruments.
