Bank deposits hit record $3 trillion, boosted by dollar deposits scheme | Banking

India’s banking system deposits hit a record high of around 284 trillion rupees ($2.99 trillion) in the second half of September, central bank data showed on Thursday.

 Deposits rose by 21.67 trillion rupees in the first six months of the financial year, with most of the increase seen between June and August, when the central bank’s discounted swap window to attract dollar inflows was in place.

 Banking system deposits jumped by an aggregate of 20 trillion rupees from June 16 to August 31, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India.

 In June, the RBI announced a discounted swap window to attract foreign-currency deposits and encouraged lenders to raise cheaper deposits.

 The scheme saw inflows of around $133 billion and the deposit window was closed on August 31, a month earlier than planned.

 Deposits were also boosted by lenders’ efforts to build funding buffers before the end of the quarter; the fortnight ended September 30 saw inflows of 7.73 trillion rupees.

 Overall deposits in the banking system as of September-end were up 8.4 per cent as compared with March-end.

Competition for deposits stayed contained, while the system was in surplus, CareEdge Ratings said in a note.

 “The October rate hike rules out further cuts in term deposit rates for now and is likely to push them up, as banks need to fund credit that is growing faster than deposits while the liquidity surplus shrinks,” CareEdge added.