The central bank, which is opposed to capping rates saying it could cause banks to restrict lending, asked banks to cut rates urgently last week to win back customer's trust. Businesses often complain that high commercial lending rates, which can reach 18 percent or more, hobble corporate investment. The central bank cut its policy rate to 10.5 percent in May, having left it at 11.5 percent since July 2015. The average lending rate was 18.2 percent last month, compared with 15.8 percent in July last year, the central bank said. Updated Wed, August 10th 2016 at 15:04 GMT +3Commercial banks promised on Wednesday to cut loan rates by 100 basis points immediately, part of measures to lower borrowing costs and see off the threat of a legislative cap on rates.

Source: Standard Digital August 10, 2016 11:15 UTC