Country’s second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank has raised benchmark lending rate by 0.2 per cent, a move which will make auto, corporate and other loans linked with base rate or the minimum lending rate costlier.

'The base rate of the bank has been increased to 9.80 per cent from 9.60 per cent with effect from August 3,' HDFC Bank Treasurer Ashish Parthasarthy told PTI.

Base rate is dependent on cost of deposit which have gone up in the recent past both on account of RBI measures and increase in short term deposit rates, he said.

On March 30, the bank reduced the benchmark lending rate from 9.7 per cent to 9.60 per cent after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut its repo rate by 0.25 per cent on March 19.

HDFC Bank becomes the second lender after Yes Bank to hike lending rate after the status-quo monetary policy review of RBI last week.