The Reserve Bank has permitted Indian banks operating abroad to offer structured financial and derivative products in some select countries of their operation. However, these products – like Exchange Traded Funds and bond derivatives – are not permitted in the Indian market. An RBI notification said: “On a review, it has been decided that if foreign branches/subsidiaries of Indian banks propose to offer structured financial and derivative products that are not specifically permitted by the RBI in the domestic market, they may do so only at the established financial centers outside India.” The established foreign branches or subsidiaries could be in New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Dubai etc. RBI also added that the foreign branches or subsidiaries of any such bank should ensure that their entities dealing with such products should have adequate knowledge, understanding and risk management capability for handling such products. However, for other centres, RBI said banks may offer only those products that are specifically permitted in India.
