Mumbai, July 17: ICICI Bank has received permission from the RBI to set up an offshore banking unit (OBU) in SEEPZ here. The unit is expected to commence operations in a couple of months. The Export Import Policy for 2002-03 had allowed setting up of OBUs in special economic zones. These units would be virtually foreign branches of Indian banks but located in India. They would also be exempted from the stipulations of cash reserve ratio (CRR) and statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) and would provide finances at international rates to SEZ units and developers.
RBI had announced the facility for banks to set up offshore banking units in SEZs in November `02. Since then SBI had been granted four licences for setting up banks in SEEPZ in Mumbai, Kandla, Kochi and Surat. Bank of Baroda has also received licence for an OBU at SEEPZ.

ICICI Bank head for international banking Bharghav Dasgupta told ET that the OBU was planning on schemes to raise dollar resources in the international markets to provide foreign currency loans at highly competitive rates. “We have the flexibility to raise foreign currency liabilities — both in respect of tenure and interest rates. We will source our liabilities from various sources, wholesale as well as retail,” he said.
“An offshore banking unit does not need to maintain cash reserve ratio and is not subject to priority sector lending. All the cost benefits arising out of this, we will pass on to our customers,” said Dasgupta. He added that the primary job would be to provide export finance and other foreign exchange denominated debt to companies within the EPZ. Bureau Report