Banking Desk · Methodology v1.0 · last updated 2026-04-26
How we rate banking products.
Five segments — bank FDs, SFB FDs, post office sovereign schemes, savings accounts, RDs — each with its own scoring rubric. DICGC ₹5L coverage, sovereign backing, and senior-citizen premiums change the economics enough that we don't pretend a single formula captures all of them.
· DICGC + sovereign scoring· Tenure-mix weighted· Banking Desk owns it
Per-segment rubrics
Five formulas. One scoring scale.
Scheduled bank FDs
Formula — Rate (tenure-mix-weighted) 60% · Bank safety 20% · Operational ease 10% · Premature withdrawal terms 10%
DICGC-insured up to ₹5 L per depositor per bank. Rate dominates because everything else (premature withdrawal terms, auto-renewal) is largely standardised. We weight 1y/3y/5y rates by the typical Indian retail FD-tenure mix.
Factor
What we measure
Weight
Effective rate (regular + senior)
Tenure-mix-weighted: 1y 35%, 3y 35%, 5y 25%, 10y 5%. Senior-citizen premium (typically 0.50%) scored separately.
60%
Bank safety + DICGC coverage
Scheduled-commercial-bank status, capital adequacy ratio, last RBI inspection finding. DICGC ₹5L cap noted; concentration above ₹5L per bank flagged.
20%
Premature withdrawal penalty
Penalty %, partial withdrawal allowed, loan-against-FD option (typically up to 90% LTV at +1% over FD rate).
10%
Operational ease
Online booking, NEFT/RTGS funding, e-mandate auto-renewal, consolidated TDS statement.
10%
Total
100%
Effective rate (regular + senior): Tenure-mix-weighted: 1y 35%, 3y 35%, 5y 25%, 10y 5%. Senior-citizen premium (typically 0.50%) scored separately.
Bank safety + DICGC coverage: Scheduled-commercial-bank status, capital adequacy ratio, last RBI inspection finding. DICGC ₹5L cap noted; concentration above ₹5L per bank flagged.
Premature withdrawal penalty: Penalty %, partial withdrawal allowed, loan-against-FD option (typically up to 90% LTV at +1% over FD rate).
Operational ease: Online booking, NEFT/RTGS funding, e-mandate auto-renewal, consolidated TDS statement.
Small Finance Bank (SFB) FDs
Formula — Rate 50% · Bank safety 30% · Concentration risk 10% · Operational ease 10%
Higher rates than scheduled banks (typically +0.50–1.50%), but capital-adequacy and concentration risk demand a different rubric. DICGC ₹5L still applies. Senior-citizen premiums often more aggressive at SFBs.
Factor
What we measure
Weight
Effective rate (regular + senior)
Same tenure-mix as scheduled banks. SFBs often offer 0.5-1.5% premium — but only at higher CAR / better RBI profile do we treat the premium as durable.
50%
Capital adequacy + RBI inspection
CRAR % (regulator floor 15%), recent RBI penalty events, NPA trend, deposit growth. SFBs vary widely.
30%
Concentration risk warning
Above DICGC ₹5L cap, your deposit is unsecured. We flag prominently. Recommended pattern: split across 2-3 SFBs to keep each under ₹5L.
10%
Operational ease
Branch presence, mobile app maturity, payments-bank ecosystem integration.
10%
Total
100%
Effective rate (regular + senior): Same tenure-mix as scheduled banks. SFBs often offer 0.5-1.5% premium — but only at higher CAR / better RBI profile do we treat the premium as durable.
Capital adequacy + RBI inspection: CRAR % (regulator floor 15%), recent RBI penalty events, NPA trend, deposit growth. SFBs vary widely.
Concentration risk warning: Above DICGC ₹5L cap, your deposit is unsecured. We flag prominently. Recommended pattern: split across 2-3 SFBs to keep each under ₹5L.
Operational ease: Branch presence, mobile app maturity, payments-bank ecosystem integration.
Post office FDs + sovereign schemes
Formula — Effective post-tax return 45% · Liquidity 20% · Tax efficiency 20% · Operational friction 15%
Government-backed (sovereign credit), DICGC not applicable but irrelevant — these are guaranteed by Government of India. Post Office Time Deposit, KVP, NSC, MIS, SCSS, SSY, PPF. Each has its own mechanics; we score accessibility + liquidity + tax treatment.
Factor
What we measure
Weight
Headline interest rate
Government-set quarterly. POTD, KVP, NSC, SCSS, SSY each have their own rate schedule. SSY (girl-child) and SCSS (senior) typically highest.
30%
Tax treatment
PPF (EEE), SSY (EEE), NSC (E-T-T with reinvestment), SCSS (T-T-T), POTD (T-T-T). Effective post-tax yield is the actual comparison metric.
20%
Liquidity + lock-in
PPF 15y lock-in (with partial-withdraw window), SSY 21y, NSC 5y, SCSS 5y. Some are illiquid except via scheme rules — score accordingly.
20%
Eligibility narrowness
SSY (girl child only), SCSS (60+ only). Restrictions reduce the addressable scoring weight.
15%
Operational friction
Post office branch dependency, paper-based KYC, limited online presence (improving via India Post Payments Bank but uneven).
15%
Total
100%
Headline interest rate: Government-set quarterly. POTD, KVP, NSC, SCSS, SSY each have their own rate schedule. SSY (girl-child) and SCSS (senior) typically highest.
Tax treatment: PPF (EEE), SSY (EEE), NSC (E-T-T with reinvestment), SCSS (T-T-T), POTD (T-T-T). Effective post-tax yield is the actual comparison metric.
Liquidity + lock-in: PPF 15y lock-in (with partial-withdraw window), SSY 21y, NSC 5y, SCSS 5y. Some are illiquid except via scheme rules — score accordingly.
Eligibility narrowness: SSY (girl child only), SCSS (60+ only). Restrictions reduce the addressable scoring weight.
Operational friction: Post office branch dependency, paper-based KYC, limited online presence (improving via India Post Payments Bank but uneven).
Savings accounts
Formula — Rate 30% · Fee structure 25% · Digital banking quality 25% · Branch + ATM access 10% · Sweep + auto-FD 10%
Liquidity product, not investment. Rate matters less than fee structure, ATM access, mobile-banking quality. Some banks offer 6%+ on savings for digital-first banks vs 2.7-3.5% standard.
Factor
What we measure
Weight
Effective interest rate
Tiered? Many banks pay higher rate above ₹50L only. Effective rate at typical balance (₹25K–₹2L) is the metric.
30%
Fee structure
Min balance penalty, ATM transaction fee (after free quota), debit-card AMC, statement fee, NEFT/RTGS fee.
25%
Digital banking quality
App reliability, UPI integration, instant FD booking, e-statement clarity, customer-care SLA.
25%
Branch + ATM access
ATM count + tie-ups (e.g., NPCI shared network). Branch density for cash deposit.
10%
Sweep / auto-FD
Auto-sweep above threshold into FD. Important for liquidity-conscious users who want savings-account flexibility + FD-rate yield.
10%
Total
100%
Effective interest rate: Tiered? Many banks pay higher rate above ₹50L only. Effective rate at typical balance (₹25K–₹2L) is the metric.
Fee structure: Min balance penalty, ATM transaction fee (after free quota), debit-card AMC, statement fee, NEFT/RTGS fee.
Digital banking quality: App reliability, UPI integration, instant FD booking, e-statement clarity, customer-care SLA.
Branch + ATM access: ATM count + tie-ups (e.g., NPCI shared network). Branch density for cash deposit.
Sweep / auto-FD: Auto-sweep above threshold into FD. Important for liquidity-conscious users who want savings-account flexibility + FD-rate yield.
Recurring deposits (RDs)
Formula — Rate 50% · Flexibility 25% · Penalty terms 15% · Tax treatment 10%
Disciplined-saver product. Interest math same as FD but applied progressively. We score versus systematic alternatives (SIP-in-debt-fund, sweep-FD).
Factor
What we measure
Weight
Effective interest rate
Same as FD typically. Tenure-mix-weighted 6m-10y.
50%
Flexibility (skip / pause / step-up)
Some banks allow missed-installment skip + step-up RD (good for income-growing users). Most do not.
25%
Penalty for missed installment
Penalty per missed month, usually ₹1-3 per ₹100 of installment.
15%
Tax treatment
TDS at 10% above ₹40K interest (₹50K for senior). Tax-saver RDs (5y lock-in) get 80C benefit but rate often lower.
10%
Total
100%
Effective interest rate: Same as FD typically. Tenure-mix-weighted 6m-10y.
Flexibility (skip / pause / step-up): Some banks allow missed-installment skip + step-up RD (good for income-growing users). Most do not.
Penalty for missed installment: Penalty per missed month, usually ₹1-3 per ₹100 of installment.
Tax treatment: TDS at 10% above ₹40K interest (₹50K for senior). Tax-saver RDs (5y lock-in) get 80C benefit but rate often lower.
Standardised adjustments
Cross-segment modifiers.
- ·DICGC concentration risk warning when single-bank deposit > ₹5 L (always disclosed)
- ·Recent RBI moratorium / penalty event on the bank −0.5 to −1.0 stars
- ·Senior-citizen premium > 75 bps over base rate +0.0 to +0.2 stars
- ·Tax-saver variant (5y lock-in for FD) that gets 80C benefit, scored separately
- ·Auto-renewal default favourable to depositor +0.0 to +0.1 stars
- ·Hidden fees on premature withdrawal beyond standard −0.2 to −0.5 stars
Data sources
Where the values come from.
RBI bank-wise CAR + NPA data
Quarterly disclosures. Capital-adequacy ratio, gross-NPA ratio, deposit growth, recent inspection findings.
DICGC list of insured banks
Confirms DICGC coverage status. Updates when banks join / leave / are sanctioned.
Bank-issued rate cards
Public rate schedules per bank, refreshed weekly. Tracked changes.
India Post / Department of Economic Affairs
Quarterly small-savings rate notifications (PPF, SCSS, SSY, KVP, NSC, MIS).
RBI ombudsman quarterly reports
Bank-wise complaint volume, dispute resolution time.
Update cadence
When scores get refreshed.
- Weekly: Bank-rate scrape every Tuesday morning IST. Scheduled-commercial banks + SFBs + post office.
- Quarterly: Small-savings rate notification + RBI bank-wise CAR/NPA review.
- Event-triggered: RBI moratorium / penalty / merger / sanction → immediate re-score within 24 hours.
Related methodologies
Other product types we rate.
Banking methodology v1.0 · last updated 2026-04-26