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Informist, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026

MUMBAI – Indian banks' foreign currency non-resident dollar-denominated bank deposits rose by $27.99 billion between Jun. 5--the day the Reserve Bank of India announced a concessional swap facility for banks raising such deposits of three to five year tenures--and Thursday, as per a written response by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary to a question in the Lok Sabha. The outstanding deposits of foreign bank HSBC rose the most since the scheme was announced, by $6.14 billion. State-owned banks' holdings of such deposits rose by $8.84 billion in the same period, while private-sector banks recorded a rise of $10.73 billion. Foreign banks' FCNR(B) deposits rose by $8.37 billion in the same period.

Latest data released by the RBI Saturday showed banks received inflows worth $36.73 billion through FCNR(B) deposits under the swap window till Friday since Jun. 8. The government's data highlights the increase in outstanding in banks' FCNR(B) deposits, which suggests it is net of any maturities during this period. Of public sector banks, State Bank of India's FCNR(B) deposits rose the most by $4.12 billion between Jun. 5 and Thursday. It was followed by Bank of Baroda, whose FCNR(B) deposits rose by $1.05 billion in the same period. Punjab National Bank's FCNR(B) deposits grew by $970 million, while Canara Bank's deposits rose by $933 million. Punjab National Bank expects to mobilise $2.5 billion through such deposits by Sept-end, while Bank of Baroda aims to raise $4 billion to $5 billion via this route in the same period, as per commentary in post-June-quarter earnings calls. The management of Canara Bank had Jul. 27 said the lender aims to top $1 billion worth of FCNR(B) deposits by Jul-end. 

ICICI Bank led the rise among private-sector banks, with FCNR(B) deposits rising by $3.70 billion in the aforementioned timeline. Kotak Mahindra Bank saw its FCNR(B) deposits rising by $1.66 billion in the same period. Axis Bank's deposits rose by $1.59 billion, while HDFC Bank saw a rise of $1.41 billion in the same period. None of the four banks had mentioned inflows received through this swap window in their June-quarter post-earnings calls. Federal Bank's FCNR(B) deposits rose by $133 million in the same period.

Among foreign banks--which are included in the RBI's Authorised Dealer Category – I Banks--Standard Chartered Bank saw the second-largest rise in its FCNR(B) deposits after HSBC, up by $1.86 billion in the same period. DBS Bank India's FCNR(B) deposits were up by $331 million, while JPMorgan's deposits grew by $20 million. Deutsche Bank's FCNR(B) deposits reduced by $2.32 million, while those of Barclays Bank fell by $8.73 million. 

The RBI's swap facility on these deposits is effective Jun. 8 till Oct. 16 for deposits raised between Jun. 8 and Sept. 30. Fresh FCNR(B) deposits swapped by banks with the RBI is expected to increase foreign exchange reserves and banking system liquidity after the first leg of the transaction, and the increase will depend on the total amount of foreign currency mobilised under the swap facility during the period, the response said. The central bank has "well defined risk identification and mitigation" measures to manage India's foreign exchange reserves, the response said.

The following table provides FCNR(B) deposit figures for banks listed in the finance ministry's response, in million dollars:

Source: Finance Ministry, RBI

End

US$1 = INR 95.2850

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Table compiled by Vinodini Yadav

Reported by Cassandra Carvalho

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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