Rate-cut benefits yet to trickle down to NBFCs

THE RESERVE BANK of India's (RBI) 100-basis-point repo rate cut in 2025 has definitely benefited a lot of borrowers, especially ones linked to the external benchmark lending rate (EBLR).

- KSHIPRA PETKAR

However, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) are yet to get access to cheaper funds.

The key reason: Most loans to NBFCs are linked to marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR).

"Till now, banks have not revised their lending rates to NBFCs. They are revising their rates only for direct borrowers," Muthoot Finance MD George Alexander Muthoot said. He is hoping that things will improve in the next couple of quarters.

Deepak Aggarwal, co-founder and co-CEO, Moneyboxx Finance, said while some larger players have seen some relief, smaller NBFCs continue to pay higher interest costs, which limit their ability to extend credit at competitive rates.