SBI has indeed reduced its interest rates on retail term deposits by 25 basis points and cut its savings account rate to a historic low of 2.5%. Here's what you need to know : - *Savings Account Rate*: The new savings account rate of 2.5% per annum applies to all savings account balances, down from 2.7% for balances below Rs 10 crore and 3% for balances of Rs 10 crore and above. - *Fixed Deposit Rates*: SBI's fixed deposit rates have been reduced by 25 basis points across various tenures. The new rates range from 3.05% to 6.45% for general citizens and 3.55% to 7.05% for senior citizens. - *Fixed Deposit Tenures*: Here are the revised FD interest rates for different tenures: - *211 days to less than 1 year*: 6.05% (general citizens), 6.55% (senior citizens) - *1 year to less than 2 years*: 6.25% (general citizens), 6.75% (senior citizens) - *2 years to less than 3 years*: 6.45% (general citizens), 6.95% (senior citizens) - *3 years to less than 5 years*: 6.3% (general citizens), 6.8% (senior citizens) - *5 years to up to 10 years*: 6.05% (general citizens), 7.05% (senior citizens) - *Reason for Rate Cut*: The rate cut is aimed at protecting the bank's margins after the RBI's 50 basis points repo rate cut. With around 45% of SBI's loan book linked to the repo rate, the bank's top home loan rates for new customers now stand at 7.5%. - *Impact on Bank's Finances*: The decrease in the benchmark rate is projected to reduce the bank's annual interest income by around Rs 8,100 crore. However, reducing savings deposit rates is expected to save the bank approximately Rs 5,750 crore annually .