RBI Keeps Repo Rate Unchanged at 5.25%: What It Means for Home Loan Borrowers and FD Rates Today

The RBI monetary policy committee meeting for April concluded today, and the Governor, Sanjay Malhotra-led Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announced that the repo rate has been kept unchanged at the present 5.25%. The policy stance was maintained at 'Neutral'. The CRR stood at 3%, the SDF rate at 5.00%, the MSF rate at 5.50%, and the Bank Rate at 5.50%.

Since the RBI kept the repo rate unchanged in April 2026, home loan EMIs are likely to stay broadly stable for now, while FD rates should remain the same in the near term but may stay under downward pressure if banks decide to pass on earlier rate cuts.

The main point is that with this pause, there is no immediate relief for borrowers, but there are also no fresh rate shocks for depositors.

Home loan impact

For floating-rate home loans linked to the repo or external benchmark, an unchanged policy rate typically means your EMI does not change immediately. Borrowers who already benefited from the 125 bps cumulative cuts since February 2025 are unlikely to see a fresh EMI reduction unless banks independently reset lending spreads or pass through earlier cuts more slowly.

"As expected, the RBI kept the repo rate at 5.25% in a balanced and cautious approach to the ongoing geopolitical situation in West Asia. While there are still a lot of unknowns, the recent announcement of a ceasefire gives fresh hope for more stability in the future, even though the market is still very volatile in the short term. Keeping rates steady means stability for current and future home loan borrowers. EMIs will remain unchanged, which makes planning for the future easier. This is especially good news for people buying homes, who can now move forward with more confidence." said Anuj Puri, Chairman ANAROCK Group

RBI MPC Impact on FD Rates

For fixed deposits, an unchanged repo rate usually supports current deposit interest rates in the short term, because banks have less reason to reprice deposits quickly. However, banks can still cut FD rates later if loan demand weakens or if they want to lower funding costs, so new deposits may not offer significantly better returns than existing ones.

Current FD Rates For Major Banks

Here are the current FD rate ranges in India from major banks and deposit platforms:

SBI: 3.05% to 6.45% for regular depositors, 3.55% to 7.05% for senior citizens.
Bank of Baroda: 3.50% to 6.45% for regular depositors, 4.00% to 7.00% for senior citizens.
Bank of India: 3.00% to 6.60% for regular depositors, 3.00% to 7.10% for senior citizens.
HDFC Bank: 6.15% to 6.65%.
ICICI Bank: 6.50% to 7.00%.
Axis Bank: 3.00% to 6.45% for regular depositors, 3.50% to 7.35% for senior citizens.
RBL Bank: 3.50% to 7.20% for regular depositors, 4.00% to 7.70% for senior citizens.
YES Bank: 3.25% to 7.00% for regular depositors, 3.75% to 7.75% for senior citizens.

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