2 banks emerge as magnets for India’s diaspora cash
HSBC Holdings and ICICI Bank have become the leading lenders to India's diaspora in GIFT City, a financial hub in Gujarat. Together, they disbursed a combined $19.3 billion through a special foreign-exchange swap program offered by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) between June and August. The RBI's program attracted a surge in foreign-currency funding into the country, boosting activity in GIFT City.
HSBC alone provided $10.9 billion, while ICICI Bank contributed $8.4 billion. Other lenders in the zone included Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India, and Canara Bank. The hub, known for tax exemptions and fewer regulatory restrictions, is positioning itself to compete with established financial centers like Singapore and Hong Kong.
With 32,000 depositors in the zone, up from around 4,000 three years ago, the number of non-resident Indians (NRIs) is crucial to GIFT City's growth. Expected banking assets in GIFT City to exceed $150 billion by the end of September, the hub is leveraging its infrastructure, which enables near-instant interbank transfers, to attract international capital.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
