MUMBAI: The war for deposits is not over yet. As the banking system continues to face a liquidity shortage, top banks are revising their rates through special tenures, senior citizen benefits, and bulk deposit schemes. IDBI Bank is the latest to introduce higher rates for super senior citizens, while Bank of Baroda has launched a liquid fixed deposit scheme.
IDBI Bank recently launched the ‘IDBI Chiranjeevi-Super Senior Citizen FD’, a fixed deposit product exclusively for individuals aged 80 years and above. The scheme offers an additional 65basis points (bps) over the bank’s standard fixed deposit rates and 15bps over the senior citizen rates. The interest rates under this scheme include 8.05% for a 555-day tenure, 7.9% for 375 days, 8% for 444 days, and 7.85% for 700 days. The scheme will be effective from Jan 13, 2025.
Under Bank of Baroda’s liquid fixed deposits, customers can withdraw in units of Rs 1,000 after an initial deposit of Rs 5,000. Deposits exceeding Rs 5,000 must also be in multiples of Rs 1,000. Retail deposits are defined as those below Rs 3 crore, while deposits above this threshold are treated as bulk deposits.
The deposit tenure ranges from 12 to 60 months, with interest rates based on prevailing rates. Additional interest is offered to senior and super senior citizens. For instance, senior citizens receive an extra 0.5% for deposits up to three years and 0.6% for deposits over three years and up to five years. Super senior citizens enjoy an additional 0.1% on deposits beyond one year.
