5 points
3) In India, .................... is the
rate at which Reserve Bank of
India lends money to
commercial banks. (Fill in the
Blank from Below options) *
O
Non of the above
O
Reverse Repo rate
O
Repo rate
O
Bank Rate
Answers
Answer:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reduced the repo rate on 27 March 2020 by 75 basis points (bps). The reduction saw the repo rate reduce to 4.40% from 5.15%. Currently, the bank rate is 4.65%. Any reduction in the bank rate and the repo rate will lead to borrowers getting loans at lower interest rates.
Credit Score
Differences between Repo Rate and Bank Rate
Repo Rate and Bank Rate are the two most popular rates calculated for borrowing and lending activities carried on by commercial and central banks. They are the lending rates at which the Central Bank of India lends funds to commercial banks and other financial institutions. While both rates are short term tools used to control the cash flow in the market and are often mistaken to be one and the same, there is some noteworthy difference between the two.
Before we make a comparison about the repo rate and the bank rate, it is important to first understand what both these terms mean. Simply put, repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends to commercial banks by purchasing securities while bank rate is the lending rate at which commercial banks can borrow from the RBI without providing any security. Both the terms have been explained in a descriptive manner in the subsequent sections, along with their comparisons.
Key differences between Repo Rate vs Bank Rate
Though Repo Rate and Bank Rate have few similarities like both is fixed by the central bank and used to monitor and control the cash flow in the market, they have some prominent differences too. Take a look at the differences between Repo Rate and Bank Rate below.
Bank Rate is charged against loans offered by the central bank to commercial banks, whereas, Repo Rate is charged for repurchasing the securities sold by the commercial banks to the central bank.
No collateral is involved while charging Bank Rate but securities, bonds, agreements and collateral is involved when Repo Rate is charged.
Repo Rate is always lower than the Bank Rate.
Increase in Bank Rate directly affects the lending rates offered to the customer, restricting people to avail loans and damages the overall economic growth, whereas Increase in Repo Rate is usually handled by the banks and doesn’t affect customers directly.
Comparatively, Bank Rate caters to long term financial requirements of commercial banks whereas Repo Rate focuses on short term financial needs.
Though Bank Rate and Repo Rate have its own differences, both are used by RBI to control liquidity and inflation in the market. In a nutshell, the central bank uses these two powerful tools to introduce and monitor the liquidity rate, inflation rate and money supply in the market.
What is Repo Rate?
When we experience a financial shortfall, we approach the bank for loans. Likewise, when banks fall short of funds, they approach the central bank for financial assistance. Repo Rate is the rate at which the country’s central bank, which is RBI in India, lends money to commercial banks during financial crisis. In other words, commercial banks borrow money from the Reserve Bank of India by selling securities or bonds with an agreement to repurchase the securities on a certain date at a predetermined price. The rate of interest charged by the central bank on the cash borrowed by commercial banks is called the “Repo Rate”. For example: If the Repo Rate is 10% and the loan amount borrowed by a commercial bank from RBI is Rs 10,000, then the interest paid to the RBI will be Rs 1,000.