In a move which is seen as a precursor to fall in lending rates in future, leading private banks ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank on Monday cut rates by up to 25 basis points on high value fixed deposits across select maturities.

ICICI Bank has revised downwards rates for deposits of over Rs 1 crore by 25bps effective Monday, sources said. Fixed deposit rate of 121-150 days' maturity has been revised downward to 8% from 8.25% earlier.

Term deposit rate of ICICI for 61-90 days on high value fixed deposits of over Rs 5 crore and above has also been lowered to 8% from 8.25%. Similarly, for term deposit of 91-120 days, the interest rate is 8%.

HDFC Bank has also lowered its rates on fixed deposits of over Rs 5 crore and above.

Few weeks ago, Axis Bank had reduced fixed deposit rates by up to 25 bps across various maturities becoming one of the first major lenders to reduce its deposit offering after RBI's repo cut on March 4.

Axix Bank has cut its deposit rate offerings by 25 bps across buckets in the 18 to 36 months window. Similarly, for deposits of up to 18 months, the rates have been decreased by 15 bps to 8.50%.

In January, Reserve Bank of India had showed a shift in its stance due to fall in inflation. The Central Bank had delivered a surprising 25 bps cut at that time and followed it up with a similar move on March 4.