India's ICICI Bank sets base lending rate at 7.5pct

MUMBAI, July 1 (Reuters) - ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO), India's No. 2 lender, has set its base rate for loans at 7.5 percent effective Thursday, as part of a new rule to set minimum lending rates.

The bank's interest rate on new loans and advances including consumer loans will be determined with reference to the new base rate, it said in a statement late on Wednesday.

The central bank introduced the new lending rate system, or the base rate, to ensure that larger borrowers do not bargain for cheaper rates from banks, distorting their asset liability management. [ID:nSGE6190MI] (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)