Postpone that deposit

CONSEQUENT to the Reserve Bank of India hiking the Bank Rate late last month, commercial banks have begun to review their interest rate structure.

At least two banks -- ICICI Bank and Dena Bank -- have revised their interest rates though the former has opted to hike only the lending rate and not the deposit rate. The State Bank of India, the trend-setter, has said it would be shortly reviewing its rate structure to examine if a hike is necessary. Some multinational banks have already hiked their rates.

In this situation, prospective depositors may do well to wait at least another week or two, before depositing their money in bank schemes. It is likely the interest rates may be revised upwards. The wait may not cost much because in the worst case of SBI choosing not to hike its rate, depositors may have to settle for the existing rates.