Quote on RBI’s Monetary policy announcement on 5th August 2022

Quote by Neeraj Dhawan, Country Manager, Experian India

Sustaining its ‘withdrawal of accommodation’ stance, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked the policy repo rate by 50 basis points, taking it to the pre-pandemic levels of 5.40 percent, to fight the increasing inflationary pressures. Though the consumer price inflation is down from its peak in April 2022, it is still above the upper threshold target. The RBI expects inflation for Q2 at 7.1% and Q3 at 6.4%. Consumers can expect loan and deposit rates to increase amidst improving inflation conditions.

It was also announced that as a part of its Development and Regulatory Policies, to improve the credit ecosystem in the country, Credit Information Companies (CICs) will be brought under the purview of the RBI’s Integrated Ombudsman Scheme. This will offer a faster redressal mechanism for grievances. Also, CICs will be required to have their own internal Ombudsman (IO) framework. This is a positive step that will help consumers resolve their concerns to gain timely access to credit and be in control of their finances.

Quote by Mr. Arun Kumar, Head of Research, FundsIndia

“With the 50bps hike today, the repo rate is now above the pre-covid 5.15% level. The RBI has chosen to front load its rate hike actions, keeping the elevated inflation in mind, even though the CPI projection for this fiscal remains unchanged at 6.7%. We expect the pace and quantum of rate hikes to moderate going forward, led by falling commodity prices, global growth concerns, and easing global supply constraints. In our view, the bond yields, especially in the 3-5 year segment, discount a large part of the expected rate hikes.” Mr. Arun Kumar, Head of Research, FundsIndia