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Informist, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026

By Aaryan Khanna

MUMBAI – The interbank call money rate ended above the Standing Deposit Facility rate of 5.00% for the first time in seven sessions as banks borrowed money near the close of session to meet requirements for the reporting fortnight, dealers said. The reporting fortnight ends Sunday and with Saturday not a working day, banks had to meet their cash requirements before the weekend.

The three-day call rate ended at 5.05%, against 4.60% for one-day loans Thursday. The weighted average call rate was 5.04% Friday, the same as Thursday. The weighted average rate in the broader tri-party repo market, which includes mutual funds, rose to 4.86% from 4.79%.

According to latest data, the net liquidity absorbed from the banking system by the Reserve Bank of India -- a proxy for the liquidity surplus -- rose to INR 3.03 trillion Thursday from INR 2.86 trillion Wednesday. There were no significant inflows or outflows either on Thursday or Friday and the rise largely reflected banks shifting their cash balances with the RBI to the SDF window, dealers said.

Even though banks were maintaining a surplus of cash with the RBI on average this fortnight, last-minute tweaks to cash balances before the reporting fortnight on Sunday may have led to some additional demand. Banks were especially cautious due to unpredictable retail cash outflows over the weekend while maintaining the buffer for the cash reserve ratio requirement, dealers said. Between Feb. 1 and Feb. 12, banks maintained an average daily cash balance of INR 7.61 trillion with the RBI, against the requirement of INR 7.52 trillion for the reporting fortnight.

OUTLOOK

Money markets are shut Saturday. On Monday, the one-day call money rate may open year the SDF rate of 5.00% due to low demand for funds amid the surplus liquidity in the banking system. During the day, the call rate is expected to move in a range of 4.50-5.15%.

CALL RATE

5.05%--Friday's close for three-day loans

5.10%--Friday's open for three-day loans

4.60%--Thursday's close for one-day loans

BENCHMARK MIBOR (in %)  

Mumbai Interbank Outright Rates compiled by Financial Benchmarks India:

India Call:Near SDF; may inch up as bks meet reporting fortnight requirements

MUMBAI – The interbank call money rate was near the Reserve Bank of India's Standing Deposit Facility rate of 5.00% due to comfortable systemic liquidity surplus, dealers said. "Rates are expected to remain low, some inch-up may happen in TREPS (tri-party repo) due to it being a reporting Friday but it won't rise much," a dealer at a state-owned bank said. 

At 1013 IST, the one-day call rate was 5.10%, up from Thursday's close of 4.60%. The weighted average call rate was 5.10%, compared with 5.04% Thursday. The weighted average call rate is likely to remain around this level during the rest of the day, dealers said. 

The weighted average rate in the wider tri-party repo market, which includes mutual funds, was 4.87%, against 4.79% the previous trading day. The triparty repo rate continued to rise for the fourth trading day as banks borrowed from mutual funds to park cash at the SDF rate of 5.00%, earning an arbitrage, dealers said. 

According to latest data, the net liquidity absorbed from the banking system by the RBI – a proxy for the liquidity surplus – rose to INR 3.03 trillion Thursday from INR 2.86 trillion Wednesday. Banks parked around INR 160 billion more funds in the SDF window Thursday, at INR 4.40 trillion.

Banks' demand for funds is likely to remain high through the day, as they have to maintain cash balances with the RBI to meet regulatory norms before the end of the reporting fortnight on Sunday, dealers said. Between Feb. 1 and Feb. 11, banks maintained an average daily cash balance of INR 7.64 trillion with the RBI, against the requirement of INR 7.52 trillion for the fortnight.

Dealers do not see any major inflows or outflows on Friday and expect rates to remain around the repo rate, mostly near the RBI's SDF rate.  (Kabir Sharma)

End

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Ashish Shirke

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