Qus: What are Central Bank’s plans for expanding in markets other than India? Recently we heard that Central Bank plans to open representative offices in Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Doha and London - What is the rationale behind this?
Ans: We have sought permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to open representative offices abroad. Having a representative office allows us to operate efficiently in the global financial markets. Further, it enables us to access foreign currency deposits at cheaper rates that can be used for onward lending to our exporter clients at competitive rates. Once we are granted permission by RBI, we shall be able to offer better trade related services to a large number of our exporter clients. We will also be able to provide better remittance and investment facilities to persons of Indian origin. Having a representative office abroad will provide us a level playing field in foreign exchange business domain vis-à-vis our peer banks.
