The foreign currency non-resident (bank) or FCNR(B) scheme closed in August after beating Street estimates with a bumper accretion of $127.2 billion, with flows almost doubling in the last 10 days of the scheme to take the total inflows from such special schemes so far to $136.4 billion. Brokerages expect this to boost the balance of payments surplus and support loan growth momentum for Indian banks.
FCNR(B) deposits accounted for over 93% of the total dollar inflows, with banks adding the most dollars to the kitty, in the last ten days resulting in a strong close to the special window, according to provisional data released by the RBI. This came after the Indian central bank advanced the timeline for banks to accept incentives-laden FCNR(B) deposits by a month to August 31 noting the strong inflows through the scheme. The swap scheme for ECBs and OFCBs will run until December 31, 2026.
