With only two months remaining before the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) concessional FCNR(B) swap window closes, private sector banks are now actively increasing efforts to attract deposits. Earlier, foreign banks and State Bank of India (SBI) had led the inflows.
To boost participation, major private banks like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank have raised FCNR(B) deposit interest rates by 25 basis points to around 6.25% for the 3–5 year tenure.
Key highlights:
- The scheme started on June 8 and will remain open till September 30, 2026.
- Foreign banks mobilised $8.37 billion, increasing their total FCNR(B) deposits to $8.97 billion (from $603 million).
- Private sector banks raised $10.73 billion in deposits.
- Public sector banks mobilised $8.84 billion.
- Small finance and cooperative banks together contributed about $50 million.
Overall, banks are now competing aggressively to attract NRI deposits before the window closes.
business-standard