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Banks turn to unsecured lending to protect margins
Financial Express Kochi
|January 02, 2026
FRESH LENDING RATES SURGE 32 BPS SINCE SEPTEMBER 2025
BANKS, LED BY public sector lenders, are increasingly leaning on higher-interest retail loans to protect margins, pushing up fresh lending rates for a second consecutive month.
The weighted average lending rate (WALR) on fresh rupee loans of scheduled commercial banks rose 32 basis points (bps) to 8.71% in November from 8.39% in September, Reserve Bank of India data showed. Fresh lending rates increased in both October and November.
This story is from the January 02, 2026 edition of Financial Express Kochi.
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