Banks led by the State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda have lowered their Base Rate that would benefit a huge chunk of existing customers who have not migrated to the latest Reserve Bank of India prescribed Marginal Cost Based Lending Rates. SBI has cut base rate by 5 basis points to 8.95% - a move that is likely to benefit a substantial number of bank’s borrower. The new rates will be effective from October 1.State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda and Andhra Bank has lowered base rate just a week ahead of the Reserve Bank of India monetary policy announcementAlthough more than half of State Bank of India’s borrowers have migrated to marginal cost lending rate or MCLR – a benchmark lending rate system that was introduced since April 2016, the remaining are still charged on the basis of Base Rate. A large number of retail borrowers have their home and education loans linked to base rate.Andhra Bank has reduced base rate to 9.55% from 9.70% while Bank of Baroda has reduced base rate from 9.50% to 9.15%. While this is not an indication of overall interest rates declining, it reflects that banks are willing to compromise on their profitability for the benefit of customers.None of the bank has announced a reduction in MCLR rates. SBI is slated to review its MCLR rate on in the first week of October. Its MCLR stands at 8% for one year.