Post RBI Nod, 9 Vostro Accounts Opened To Facilitate Overseas Trade In Rupee

Post RBI Nod, 9 Vostro Accounts Opened To Facilitate Overseas Trade In Rupee: Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal informed on 15th November, the Reserve Bank of India has allowed the opening of nine special Vostro accounts with two Indian lenders IndusInd Bank & UCO Bank, to facilitate overseas trade in rupee.

Apart from the UCO Bank, Russia’s two largest banks VTB Bank & Sberbank are the first foreign lenders to have received approval from the RBI towards settling international trade transactions in rupee.

Important Highlights

• Russia’s top two banks VTB Bank & Sberbank have emerged as the first foreign lenders to receive approval from RBI.
• Gazprom, one of Russia’s banks, which does not have its branch in India, has also opened Vostro account in UCO Bank.
• RBI has allowed these special Vostro accounts to invest the surplus balance in Indian government securities.
• Both the Russian banks opened special Vostro accounts in each of their Delhi branches.
• Sberbank & VTB Bank, are the largest and second-largest banks of Russia respectively.
• The UCO bank already has a Vostro account-based facility in Iran.
• UCO Bank has created the Vostro account. It was one of the first banks to get regulatory approval from RBI when RBI decided to encourage rupee settlement.

What is Vostro Account?

A Vostro account is an account held by a bank that allows customers to deposit money on behalf of another bank. An example of such an account would be the HSBC Vostro account held by PNB in India.

UCO Bank

United Commercial Bank is an Indian public sector bank, it was established in 1943 in Kolkata. It is a commercial bank and a government of India undertaking.

Established: 1943

Headquarters: Kolkata, West Bengal

Tagline: Honours your Trust

About Reserve Bank of India

It is India’s central bank, under the ownership of the Ministry of Finance & Government of India. RBI is a regulatory body, responsible for the regulation of the Indian banking system & it also works to promote countries’ economic development.

Established: 1st April 1935

Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Governor: Shaktikanta Das