New Delhi, Aug. 2 -- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has overhauled the rules governing how banks offer and disclose deposit interest rates, with the revised framework set to take effect from October 1. Although the changes are unlikely to alter returns on retail fixed deposits overnight, they are expected to make FD pricing more transparent for customers while giving banks greater flexibility in setting rates for bulk deposits.

The directions will apply to commercial banks, small finance banks, regional rural banks (RRBs), local area banks, payment banks and urban cooperative banks.

For retail depositors, the biggest change is greater transparency and uniformity in how deposit rates are offered.

Under the revised directions, banks wil...