State Bank of India Chairman CS Setty is confident that his bank can mobilise $10 billion via Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) deposits despite the RBI deciding to close the special USD-INR forex swap facility for these deposits a month ahead (on August 31) of the original plan to keep it open till September-end 2026.In a free-wheeling interview with businessline, Setty, who took the helm at India’s largest bank on August 28, 2024, observed that “every day at SBI is a defining moment”. With India’s real growth around 7 per cent, SBI has the potential to grow credit by 13–14 per cent and the overall balance sheet by around 12 per cent.
With the RBI bringing forward by a month the deadline to mobilise fresh FCNR(B) under its concessional swap facility, how much inflows do you expect? Which geographies are contributing to these inflows?
Originally, we had expected to mobilise $10 billion in FCNR(B) deposits by September 30. Despite the shorter timeline, I believe we should still be able to reach the $10 billion mark. The deposits are flowing from across geographies but mainly from Asia.
How will these FCNR(B) inflows change the composition of SBI’s balance sheet, particularly given that deposit growth has been lagging credit growth by a significant margin?
