Central Bank of India targets $400 million in FCNR (B) deposits; sees no major impact on asset quality from West Asia conflict
The state-owned lender is planning several outreach programmes around the upcoming festivals targeting its NRI customer base.
- Jul 17, 2026,
- Updated Jul 17, 2026 6:42 PM IST
Central Bank of India is targeting $400 million in foreign currency non-resident [FCNR (B)] deposits by end of September and will carry out multiple outreach programmes for its NRI customers.
The Reserve Bank of India announced a special window earlier this year where banks would be able to raise FCNR (B) deposits and swap them into rupees at a concessional rate.
The swap facility would remain open to October 16, 2026, for deposits mobilised between June 8 and September 30, 2026.
This facility was planned to shore up the country's foreign exchange reserves, amid the surge in crude oil prices earlier this year, and sharp selling in the equity market by foreign institutional investors that had led to a rapid depreciation in the rupee.
RBI would also bear the full hedging costs, allowing banks to offer attractive interest rates.
According to officials at Central Bank of India, the state-owned lender has so far raised $8.4 million in FCNR (B) deposits. It has a base of 75,500 NRI customers and 1.97 lakh NRI accounts of those customers.
"Around Onam, we are going to conduct NRI meet at Thiruvananthapuram. During Ganesh festival, we will conduct NRI meet at Mumbai and Pune, and during Janmashtami we will have NRI meet in places like Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Gandhinagar and Rajkot. We have created 159 NRI desks," said Kalyan Kumar, the MD and CEO of Central Bank explaining the strategy of the lender to garner FCNR deposits.
There is a dedicated helpline and helpdesk and a war room has also been created in its international banking division to reach to NRI customers, he added.
Since the special FCNR window was opened, banks have raised their interest rates offered on such deposits. Central Bank is currently offering an interest rate of 6.60 per cent for FCNR (B) deposits of 5-year duration, which bank officials say is one of the highest among public sector lenders.
In the April-June quarter, Central Bank reported a net profit of Rs 1,324 crore, up 13.3 per cent from a year ago. Net interest income was up 15.70 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3,914 crore.
In the first quarter, it's total deposits grew 11.7 per cent to around Rs 4.79 lakh crore, while gross global advances were up 28.6 per cent to over Rs 3.54 lakh crore.
Kumar said the bank's deposits are seen growing 11-12 per cent in the current financial year ending March 2027, while credit growth is expected in the 14-16 per cent range.
The lender has so far not seen any impact of the conflict in West Asia, either on credit demand or on asset quality.
"The geopolitical tension was felt in this quarter itself and you can see the quarter-on-quarter growth in advances was approximately 3 per cent. So, in that way, in demand, we never found anything adverse. In asset quality also, there has been no significant deterioration," pointed Kumar.
The government had earlier this year announced an Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) to industries impacted by the West Asia conflict.
Central Bank has so far disbursed around Rs 4,500 crore, while eligible accounts are around Rs 7,300 crore, officials said. Some 25,000 applications have been received so far.
Central Bank of India is targeting $400 million in foreign currency non-resident [FCNR (B)] deposits by end of September and will carry out multiple outreach programmes for its NRI customers.
The Reserve Bank of India announced a special window earlier this year where banks would be able to raise FCNR (B) deposits and swap them into rupees at a concessional rate.
The swap facility would remain open to October 16, 2026, for deposits mobilised between June 8 and September 30, 2026.
This facility was planned to shore up the country's foreign exchange reserves, amid the surge in crude oil prices earlier this year, and sharp selling in the equity market by foreign institutional investors that had led to a rapid depreciation in the rupee.
RBI would also bear the full hedging costs, allowing banks to offer attractive interest rates.
According to officials at Central Bank of India, the state-owned lender has so far raised $8.4 million in FCNR (B) deposits. It has a base of 75,500 NRI customers and 1.97 lakh NRI accounts of those customers.
"Around Onam, we are going to conduct NRI meet at Thiruvananthapuram. During Ganesh festival, we will conduct NRI meet at Mumbai and Pune, and during Janmashtami we will have NRI meet in places like Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Gandhinagar and Rajkot. We have created 159 NRI desks," said Kalyan Kumar, the MD and CEO of Central Bank explaining the strategy of the lender to garner FCNR deposits.
There is a dedicated helpline and helpdesk and a war room has also been created in its international banking division to reach to NRI customers, he added.
Since the special FCNR window was opened, banks have raised their interest rates offered on such deposits. Central Bank is currently offering an interest rate of 6.60 per cent for FCNR (B) deposits of 5-year duration, which bank officials say is one of the highest among public sector lenders.
In the April-June quarter, Central Bank reported a net profit of Rs 1,324 crore, up 13.3 per cent from a year ago. Net interest income was up 15.70 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3,914 crore.
In the first quarter, it's total deposits grew 11.7 per cent to around Rs 4.79 lakh crore, while gross global advances were up 28.6 per cent to over Rs 3.54 lakh crore.
Kumar said the bank's deposits are seen growing 11-12 per cent in the current financial year ending March 2027, while credit growth is expected in the 14-16 per cent range.
The lender has so far not seen any impact of the conflict in West Asia, either on credit demand or on asset quality.
"The geopolitical tension was felt in this quarter itself and you can see the quarter-on-quarter growth in advances was approximately 3 per cent. So, in that way, in demand, we never found anything adverse. In asset quality also, there has been no significant deterioration," pointed Kumar.
The government had earlier this year announced an Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) to industries impacted by the West Asia conflict.
Central Bank has so far disbursed around Rs 4,500 crore, while eligible accounts are around Rs 7,300 crore, officials said. Some 25,000 applications have been received so far.