RBI forex swap facility draws $72.85 billion in inflows by August 21
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India’s banking system has mobilised nearly $73 billion in foreign currency through the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) special USD-INR forex swap facility, with Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank), or FCNR(B), deposits accounting for the bulk of the inflows.
According to RBI data released on August 22, total forex inflows through FCNR(B) deposits, Overseas Foreign Currency Borrowings (OFCBs) and External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) stood at $72.848 billion as of August 21, 2026. FCNR(B) deposits contributed $65.397 billion, while OFCBs and ECBs accounted for $4.860 billion and $2.591 billion, respectively.
FCNR(B) deposits drive mobilisation
The RBI introduced the special USD-INR swap facility on June 8 to encourage banks to mobilise foreign currency, particularly through fresh three-to-five-year FCNR(B) deposits. Under the arrangement, the central bank bears the hedging cost for eligible deposits, allowing banks to offer more attractive returns to overseas depositors.
The response has significantly exceeded initial expectations. Punjab National Bank CEO Ashok Chandra had estimated in June that Indian banks could raise around $35 billion-$40 billion through the FCNR(B) scheme.
The RBI has since advanced the FCNR(B) mobilisation deadline to August 31, a month earlier than the original September 30 deadline, following the strong response. The ECB and OFCB routes remain part of the broader forex mobilisation exercise.
The sharp rise in FCNR(B) deposits has also pushed the current scheme well beyond the scale of the comparable 2013 programme.
Current scheme surpasses 2013 mobilisation
The 2013 RBI forex swap programme mobilised around $34 billion in total, including about $26 billion through FCNR(B) deposits and roughly $8 billion through overseas borrowings. The entire mobilisation took place over a period of roughly three months.
By comparison, the 2026 facility has attracted $72.848 billion in just over 10 weeks, more than twice the total mobilisation recorded through the 2013 swap windows.
The PIB, highlighting the latest numbers, described the response as the “largest and fastest foreign-currency mobilisation exercises undertaken by India”, while attributing the strong FCNR(B) response to confidence among the Indian diaspora in the country’s banking system and economy.
The latest inflows provide Indian banks with a substantial pool of foreign currency funding and come at a time when lenders are also stepping up overseas fundraising. Reuters reported last week that Indian banks were accelerating dollar bond and loan issuances after the RBI brought forward the FCNR(B) swap window’s closure.
With the FCNR(B) window set to close on August 31, the $72.848 billion figure is not necessarily the final mobilisation under the facility. Further inflows could be recorded before the deadline.