Definition
Net Interest Margin (NIM)
Net Interest Margin is the difference between the interest a bank earns on advances and investments and what it pays on deposits and borrowings, expressed as a percentage of average interest-earning assets.
NIM is the single most-watched profitability gauge for Indian banks. It is calculated as net interest income divided by average interest-earning assets. A bank with a large low-cost CASA base typically reports a higher NIM because its cost of funds is lower.
NIMs are sensitive to the RBI rate cycle. When the repo rate rises, banks with a high share of repo-linked (RLLR) loans see yields reprice faster than deposit costs, temporarily lifting NIM; the reverse squeezes margins. Private banks in India often run NIMs above 4%, while large PSU banks typically sit lower.
Related terms
- Cost of FundsCost of Funds is the weighted-average interest rate a bank or NBFC pays to raise the money it lends, covering deposits, borrowings and bonds.
- Yield on AdvancesYield on Advances is the average interest rate a bank earns on its loan book, calculated as interest income from advances divided by average advances.
- Spread (Banking)In banking, the spread is the difference between the yield a bank earns on its assets and the rate it pays on its liabilities, typically the gap between yield on advances and cost of funds.
- CASA (Current and Savings Account)CASA refers to the combined balances in current and savings accounts, which are a bank's cheapest source of funds.
Plain-English explainer from The Dispatch Investors Encyclopedia. General information, not financial advice.