MONEY

RBI to shut special forex swap facility for FCNR(B) deposits on August 31

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will close a discounted forex swap facility for banks a month ‌earlier than planned following robust inflows of more than $50 billion.
Banks will now be allowed to tap the zero-cost hedging facility for​overseas forex deposits by August 31 compared ​with the earlier date of September 30.
The facility allows banks to hedge with the RBI ​overseas deposits raised from non-resident Indians (NRIs) at a discounted rate.  
The forex swap ​was a part of a raft of measures announced in ​June to boost India’s balance of payments.
The decision has been taken “based on the encouraging response to the swap facility for FCNR(B) deposits ​and the resultant forex inflows”, the central bank has ​said.
The RBI has added that it has received $52.3 billion via FCNR deposits raised ​by the banks between June 8 and August 13.  
Of that amount, $1.7 billion ​has been ⁠raised through swap facilities for external commercial borrowings (ECB) and $2.8 billion through overseas foreign currency ​borrowings (OFCB) undertaken by authorised lenders.
The window ​for ⁠these two types of borrowings — ECB and OFCB — is slated to be open until the end of the year, the RBI has said.

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