Mumbai, Sept 12: State Bank of India today launched two new deposit schemes for Non-Resident Indians for a limited period from September 24. "Pravasi vaibhav" is a deposit scheme denominated in rupee with payment of maturity proceeds in US dollar, while "pravasi samriddhi" will be booked at SBI's Offshore Banking Units (OBUs) at Bahrain, Nassau and Seepz in Mumbai offering NRIs an opportunity for investment on floating or fixed rates of interest on cumulative and non-cumulative basis, the bank said in a release here today.

The stipulated minimum amount under "vaibhav" scheme would be USD 10,000 or equivalent and the tenure of deposit one year, it said.

"Samriddhi" deposits would be denominated in USD and Euro with a stipulated amount of usd 5,000, and offered for a period of one, two, three and five years, the release added.
Under the "vaibhav" scheme, the foreign currency received from the customer would be converted by the bank into rupees to issue an NRE special term deposit (NRE-STDR) for a year. Simultaneously, a forward contract would also be booked to convert the NRE-STDR proceeds into USD on maturity, it said.

SBI chairman A K Purwar said that the two innovative deposit schemes have been specially designed to give a wider choice to global Indians, who in today's environment need investment opportunities which are secure and give good returns.

The new deposit schemes not only add value to the array of products for NRIs, but also offer sophisticated financial solutions to maximize earnings on a fully secured basis, he added.
Bureau Report