The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) attracted total inflows of $72.85 billion as of August 21 through the special USD-INR forex swap facility, according to data released by the central bank.
FCNR(B) deposits emerged as the dominant contributor, accounting for $65.40 billion of the total inflows, or nearly 90 per cent of the overall figure. OFCBs contributed $4.86 billion, while ECBs brought in $2.59 billion.
The facility was introduced in June 2026, and designed to channel foreign currency inflows through three routes — Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank), or FCNR(B), deposits; external commercial borrowings (ECBs); and overseas foreign currency borrowings (OFCBs).
Notably, the window for FCNR(B) deposits will close on August 31, 2026, while ECBs and OFCBs will remain eligible under the facility until December 31, 2026.
FCNR(B) deposits continue uptick:
Recently, the Ministry of Finance has shared the data in the Lok Sabha related to the outstanding FCNR(B) deposits. It said the deposits increased from $32.56 billion on June 5, 2026, to $60.55 billion, registering a surge of 86 percent on July 30, 2026.
The Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) [FCNR(B)] deposits have witnessed a sharp rise after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced a special US Dollar-Rupee forex swap facility, reflecting strong participation from banks and non-resident Indian (NRI) depositors.
SBI, HSBC and ICICI Bank lead:
As per the recent government data, the State Bank of India, HSBC and ICICI Bank have garnered the largest amounts under a central bank scheme to attract dollar deposits from non-resident Indians.
Further, the HSBC’s India unit raised about $6.14 billion, while State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, garnered about $4.12 billion between June 5 and July 30, the data showed.
FCNR(B) deposits works like an Fixed Deposit account available to resident Indians, except that with an FCNR account, you deposit only foreign currency.
The currencies that are available for the deposit include US dollars (USD), pound sterling (GBP), Japanese yen (JPY), Euros (EUR), Canadian dollars (CAD), Australian dollars (AUD), Danish krone (DKK), Swiss francs (CHF), and Swedish krona (SEK).
