PNB Raised Loan Rates on Nov 1 — Is Your EMI Going Up?

Two big public-sector banks raised lending rates on 1 November 2026 — and a third cut its rates the same day. If your home or personal loan is linked to the wrong benchmark, your EMI is about to move. If it is linked to the other one, nothing changes.

Quick Answer: PNB raised its MCLR by 10 basis points on all tenors from 1 November 2026 — its one-year MCLR is now 8.90%, up from 8.80%. Only MCLR-linked loans are affected, and only at their reset date. Loans linked to the repo rate are untouched: PNB's repo-linked rate is unchanged at 8.35%. Check your sanction letter for your benchmark.

PNB raised its Marginal Cost of Funds-based Lending Rate (MCLR) by 10 basis points across all six tenors, effective 1 November 2026, according to its filing to the stock exchanges on 31 October. New rates: overnight 8.10% (was 8.00%), one month 8.35% (8.25%), three months 8.60% (8.50%), six months 8.75% (8.65%), one year 8.90% (8.80%), three years 9.20% (9.10%). The bank kept its repo-linked lending rate unchanged at 8.35% and its base rate at 9.50%.

Indian Bank's one-year MCLR rose to 8.95% from 8.85%, effective 3 November 2026. Bank of India cut its three-month MCLR to 8.35% from 8.45%, six-month to 8.65% from 8.75%, one-year to 8.80% from 8.90% and three-year to 8.90% from 9.00%. Bank of India also raised retail term-deposit rates by 10–20 basis points in select buckets.

The backdrop: on 7 October 2026 the RBI raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% — the first hike since February 2023 — and changed its stance from "neutral" to "calibrated tightening", taking rate cuts off the table for now. Banks are still passing that hike through at different speeds.

An MCLR hike does not raise every loan at the bank.

MCLR is the benchmark for floating-rate loans taken before October 2019, and for borrowers who stayed on it. Since October 2019, most new floating-rate retail loans are linked to an external benchmark, usually the repo rate (RLLR/EBLR). Those move only when the repo rate moves — and it has not changed since 7 October.

So the rule is simple: MCLR-linked loans rise 10 basis points at the next reset; repo-linked loans are untouched by this announcement; fixed-rate loans never move.

Your reset date matters as much as the hike. MCLR loans reset on a schedule set in the loan agreement — typically every 6 or 12 months for home loans. A 10-basis-point rise does not hit your EMI the day the bank announces it; it lands on the next reset. Check your sanction letter or loan statement for two things: the benchmark (MCLR or repo-linked) and the reset frequency.

Take a ₹50 lakh home loan with 20 years left. At 8.80% — PNB's old one-year MCLR — the EMI is ₹44,345 a month and the total interest over the remaining 20 years is about ₹56.43 lakh. At 8.90% — the new rate — the EMI becomes ₹44,665 a month and total interest rises to about ₹57.20 lakh. That is ₹320 more a month and about ₹76,813 more interest over the loan, from a 0.10% move. Figures are computed with the standard EMI formula and are illustrative: your EMI depends on your balance, remaining tenure and the spread over MCLR.

Small moves compound over decades. The same ₹50 lakh loan at 8.80% over 30 years instead of 20 would cost about ₹39,514 a month — lower EMI, but total interest of about ₹92.25 lakh, roughly ₹35.8 lakh more. A lower EMI is not automatically a cheaper loan.

- MCLR: the bank revises it monthly, based on its own cost of funds. Mostly pre-October 2019 floating loans. Resets every 6–12 months. - Repo-linked (RLLR/EBLR): moves with the RBI repo rate. Most floating loans taken since October 2019. Transmits faster, usually quarterly. - Fixed rate: does not move at all. Fixed-rate loans only. Never resets.

Weights, as of 5 November 2026: transparency and speed favour repo-linked loans; stability favours fixed rates. There is no universally "best" benchmark — the right question is which one your loan already uses, and whether switching is worth the conversion charge. Ask your bank in writing before you decide; do not switch on a headline.

For context, the RBI put the median one-year MCLR across banks at 8.55% in October 2026, down from 8.61% in September — PNB's move is one bank's repricing, not a system-wide rise.

1. Find your benchmark: open your sanction letter or loan statement and look for "MCLR" or "RLLR/EBLR". If it says MCLR, note your reset date. 2. If you are a PNB or Indian Bank MCLR borrower, expect the higher rate at your next reset — about ₹320 a month more per ₹50 lakh over 20 years. 3. If you are a Bank of India MCLR borrower, your rate may have fallen by 10 basis points at your next reset — check your statement rather than assuming the worst.

Educational content only — not financial advice. Consult a SEBI-registered investment adviser for personal guidance; investments are subject to market risk.

Sources: NDTV Profit, 2 November 2026; The Hindu BusinessLine, 2 November 2026; Upstox, 2 November 2026; PNB filing to BSE/NSE, 31 October 2026; RBI Monetary Policy statement, 7 October 2026.