FD rules change from 1 October: What depositors should know about bulk deposit rates — SkimNews
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- Reserve Bank of India has introduced revised rules for bulk fixed deposits effective 1 October 2026, aimed at making bulk deposit rates transparent, easy to understand, and consistent across a bank's branches.
- Banks must publish their applicable bulk-deposit interest rates on official websites by 10 am every working day, with a 10-minute grace period allowing updates up to 10:10 am.
- Banks will be mandated to follow the rates displayed on their websites when paying interest on eligible deposits, giving depositors a straightforward reference point for bulk term deposits.
- Scheduled commercial banks define a bulk deposit as a single-rupee term deposit of ₹3 crore and above, though the threshold differs for other bank categories.
- Banks cannot offer different interest rates for similar bulk deposits solely because they are booked at different branches, ensuring rate consistency for deposits of the same amount accepted on the same day.
- Banks retain flexibility to differentiate bulk deposit rates based on the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) run-off treatment, a provision that also extends to certain rupee deposits held by non-residents.
- The revised framework applies to commercial banks, small finance banks, regional rural banks, local area banks, payment banks, and urban cooperative banks, while existing retail FD interest rates remain unaffected.
Why it matters: Depositors placing ₹3 crore or more in term deposits gain a standardized, publicly verifiable rate they can check at 10 am on the day of booking, eliminating branch-level rate arbitrage — though banks can still differentiate by LCR treatment, so sophisticated depositors must still scrutinize the basis for any quoted rate.
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