The war for deposits continues as a clutch of banks have increased interest rates to bring their growth in line with loan growth. This is despite the hope among several lenders that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)may cut interest rates in its February bi-monthly monetary policy.

Facing tight liquidity conditions, some banks have been trying to garner more deposits to meet rising credit demand. The RBI data only goes to prove how banks have been struggling to bring credit and deposit growth move in sync throughout 2024, with the fortnight ended 27 December showing no different trend.

 As per the latest RBI data, credit grew by 11.16% year-on-year while deposits rose by 9.8%.Total bank deposits stood at Rs 220.6 lakh crore, while bank credit touched Rs 177.43 lakh crore. The credit-to-deposit ratio stood at 80%, up from 79% a year ago.

To mobilise more deposits, lenders like IDBI Bank and Bank of Baroda offered new schemes with higher returns.

IDBI Bank launched the "IDBI Chiranjeevi-Super Senior Citizen FD" scheme on 13 January 2025, offering higher interest rates for individuals aged 80 and above. The rates on offer are 0.65% higher than standard fixed deposit rates and 0.15% higher than rates for senior citizens.

The scheme offers 8.05% interest for 555 days, 7.9% for 375 days, 8% for 444 days and 7.85% for 700 days.

Bank of Baroda introduced a liquid fixed deposit scheme allowing customers to withdraw money in increments of Rs 1,000 after an initial deposit of Rs 5,000.

Subsequent deposits must also be in multiples of Rs 1,000. The scheme offers varying interest rates based on the deposit term, ranging from 12 to 60 months.

Senior citizens receive an additional 0.5% interest on deposits up to three years and 0.6% on deposits between three and five years. Super senior citizens receive an additional 0.1% on deposits longer than one year. Deposits under Rs 3 crore are classified as retail, while those above are considered bulk deposits.

Some banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), Indian Bank, IDBI Bank and Punjab &  Sind Bank, launched special fixed deposits with higher interest rates for a limited time. 

SBI offers a variety of special fixed deposits, such as SBI Amrit Kalash and SBI Amrit Vrishti. The "444 days" scheme offers an interest rate of 7.25% for regular customers and 7.75% for senior citizens. This scheme is available until 31 March 2025. The "400 days" scheme offers 7.10% for regular customers and 7.60% for senior citizens, and is valid until 31 March 2025.

Indian Bank has extended the deadline for its special fixed deposit schemes, IND Supreme 300 Days and IND Super 400 Days, to 31 March 2025. These schemes offer interest rates of up to 8.05% for super senior citizens.

Federal Bank has added a new 444-day tenure, with the highest rate of 7.50% for general (non-senior) citizens. Previously, the highest rate was 7.40% for 777 days and 50 months. 

Federal Bank offers interest rates between 3% and 7.5% on fixed deposits for general citizens, with tenures ranging from seven days to over five years.