ICICI Bank Raises $17.88 Billion Through RBI’s FCNR(B) Swap Facility

New Delhi: ICICI Bank has mobilised around $17.88 billion through Foreign Currency Non-Resident Bank, or FCNR(B), deposits under the Reserve Bank of India’s special dollar-rupee swap facility, the private sector lender said in an exchange filing.

Of the total amount raised, around $9 billion was provided as loans by the bank’s international branches and subsidiaries against these deposits.

Bank Issues $3.55 Billion Bonds

ICICI Bank also issued standby letters of credit worth approximately $3.63 billion to other lenders against loans backed by such deposits.

Separately, the lender raised an aggregate $3.55 billion through US dollar-denominated bonds during July and August 2026.

The disclosures come after the RBI closed the special USD-INR swap window for FCNR(B) deposits on August 31.

RBI Scheme Attracts Strong Inflows

The central bank introduced the facility on June 8 to attract foreign exchange inflows amid pressure on the Indian rupee.

According to RBI data, authorised dealer banks had mobilised $72.848 billion in foreign currency inflows under the facility as of August 21.

FCNR(B) deposits accounted for the bulk of the mobilisation at $65.397 billion. External commercial borrowings (ECBs) and overseas foreign currency borrowings (OFCBs) contributed another $7.451 billion.

The swap facility for ECBs and OFCBs will remain available until December 31, 2026.

The government has described the initiative as India’s largest and fastest foreign-currency mobilisation exercise, surpassing the 2013 FCNR(B) swap scheme.

The RBI had initially planned to keep the FCNR(B) window open until September 30 but advanced the closure to August 31 following strong inflows and sufficient foreign exchange mobilisation.