Bank of Maharashtra has announced that it has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India to set up an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) banking unit in the GIFT City. The branch will function as Bank of Maharashtra’s first international branch carrying out offshore banking operations from India.
Speaking on the occasion, Nidhu Saxena, MD & CEO, Bank of Maharashtra, said, “This is a significant opportunity for our bank as we continue to expand our operations across geographies. The opening of IBU in Gift City will be yet another milestone in bank’s growth story. This development will benefit us to expand our international banking business and also enable us to provide specialized banking services to our customers.”
The GIFT City, located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, is India’s first International Financial Services Centre, aimed at revolutionizing India’s financial eco-system by providing world-class banking services locally and reducing reliance on offshore financial hubs. The Centre has also become a hub for fintech innovation and global investments, generating jobs and attracting institutions across banking, education and technology centres. The IFSC unit will provide the Bank of Maharashtra access to international financial markets and will allow the bank to deliver a complete range of products to its clients with foreign currency funding requirements.
The bank will now be able to actively offer products such as external commercial borrowings to its customers. The bank through this banking unit will also be able to meet the funding requirements of overseas entities which may be joint ventures or subsidiaries of its domestic clients. This will further strengthen capabilities and capacity to serve clients in India, the bank stated in a press release.
