The bank made this clarification in response to reports in certain sections of the media that it has been identified as the nodal bank for handling Russia-related transactions.
“Regarding the news published today by the media that SBI is being identified as the nodal bank to handle Russia related transactions, SBI would like to clarify that reserve Bank of India Through its circular dated July 11, 2022, all banks in India including State Bank of India have been authorized to open special Rupee Vostro accounts for promotion of invoicing in Indian Rupees. Accordingly, SBI is making necessary arrangements and processing requests received from various banks including Russian banks, duly adhering to RBI guidelines and our policies and procedures. SBI, as such, has not been identified as a nodal bank,” the SBI statement read.
Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) President A Sakthivel told reporters on Wednesday that India would soon start signing trade agreements with India. Russia State Bank of India has agreed to facilitate the process at Rs.
“So here SBI’s identity is already there… we have a good rupee payment mechanism in Iran, so the same will happen (with Russia)… SBI is a big bank to meet the needs of exporters,” He was quoted as saying.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in July issued a detailed circular asking banks to make additional arrangements for export and import transactions in Indian rupees in view of the growing interest of the global trading community in the domestic currency.