Kathmandu. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) special US dollar Indian Rupee Foreign Exchange (Forex) swap facility has brought in foreign exchange worth $143.596 billion as of September 18. Most of this money has been mobilized through foreign currency non-resident (bank) deposits, RBI data showed.
According to the RBI, according to the latest data provided by authorised dealer banks, the foreign currency non-resident (bank) deposits mobilized under the swap facility have reached $132.98 billion. Similarly, overseas foreign currency borrowings have mobilized $5.32 billion and external commercial borrowings have mobilized $5.296 billion.
The facility was introduced by the Indian central bank on June 8. It was aimed at injecting new foreign currency into the banking system, strengthening India’s external financial buffer and supporting domestic liquidity.
Under this provision, banks could mobilize new foreign currency non-resident (bank) deposits of 3 to 5 years and swap these foreign currency with the RBI at a concessional rate. This was expected to help reduce the hedging cost of banks.
The RBI’s move aims to increase the availability of foreign currency and further ease liquidity management in the banking system.
