Indian banks increase overseas presence during 2023-24: RBI Survey

28 Oct 2024 Evaluate

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest survey on ‘International Trade in Banking Services, 2023-24’ has showed that Indian banks increased their overseas presence during 2023-24 both in terms of balance sheet size as well as in terms of number of branches and employees. The survey noted that their employee strength increased by 8.2 per cent in overseas branches and 1.7 per cent in subsidiaries. During the year, the number of branches and employees of foreign banks in India also expanded by 0.6 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively.

According to the survey report, consolidated balance sheets of overseas branches and subsidiaries of Indian banks grew by 4.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively, during the year whereas that of foreign banks in India recorded higher increase of 7.2 per cent, in US dollar terms. In US dollar terms, overseas branches of Indian banks recorded 8.8 per cent growth in deposits while their lending declined marginally by 0.8 per cent during the year; these changes, inter alia, also reflected cross-currency movements.

The report also stated that total income to assets ratio of overseas branches of Indian banks increased to 6.2 per cent in 2023-24 (3.9 per cent in 2022-23) but it remained lower than that of Indian banks’ subsidiaries (7.3 per cent) and foreign banks’ operating in India (7.6 per cent). Besides, it said that high rise in interest rates resulted in acceleration in total income during 2023-24; fee income of overseas branches of Indian banks and the foreign banks operating in India also increased during the year but it declined for the relatively minor segment of overseas subsidiaries of Indian banks.