New Delhi: After the recent hike in CRR by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) experts agree that there won't be any immediate increase in interest rates. However, things can become harder for new home and personal loan seekers. The increase in CRR by 50 basis points by RBI is targeted at absorbing the surplus liquidity in the banking system. This step is expected to mop up around Rupees 15,000 crores from the banking system.

This effectively will mean that banks will have less money at their disposal to lend. With little scope of increasing the interest rates immediately, banks would prefer to lend only to those having good track record and credit history.

Secondly, the reduced funds with the banks will essentially mean that people seeking higher ticket loans will have to shell out more as margin money (or down payment). Banks, which required the borrower to deposit around 20 percent of the total cost of the property as down payment might increase this amount to well above 30 percent. This could be a critical factor for many home loan seekers.

Banks would also like to acquire more funds, and experts agree that the rates on deposits and savings won't decrease and are likely to remain steady. This increase in interest rates is a measure by RBI to stabilize the economy and the hike in CRR is unlikely to have any direct impact on the common man.