The latest bad news for fixed income investors is that interest rates have started to fall even without any rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It started with the State Bank of India (SBI) cutting deposit rates across medium and long tenure deposits by 0.25 per cent on 16 September, 2014. It is a big move, especially for senior citizens. These deposits were earning around 9 per cent interest before the cut. It might not be long before other banks follow suit. This may be the reason why the appeal of corporate fixed deposits (FDs) and non-convertible debentures (NCDs) is increasing by the day. Company FDs give higher tax adjusted returns over bank FDs, which is crucial for those in the highest tax bracket.