State Bank of India has mopped up about Rs 1,000 crore in deposits within three days of redemption of its Resurgent India Bonds (RIB) and has decided to offer special benefits to non-resident Indians to retain more funds in coming weeks. “The bank has mopped up about Rs 1,000 crore in the first week itself from rib redemptions that started on October 1,” a senior official told PTI here on Sunday. The collection will pick up later in the month as many nris would like to invest after Diwali, he said. SBI, which had mopped up $4.2 billion through the ribs five years ago, is hopeful of retaining at least 30-35 per cent of the $5.18 billion proceeds. For this, the bank had launched two nri deposit schemes—Pravasi Vaibhav and Pravasi Samriddhi. On top of this, the bank is now offering special benefits to nris wanting to reinvest rib funds in the SBI deposit schemes. “The bank is offering 14 days value-date benefits to rib holders, who are reinvesting in SBI’s various deposit schemes,” SBI officer on special duty for ribs, G. C. Jashnani, said, adding the special benefit is offered till October 15. The value-date benefit would entitle bond-holders to get interest for the 14 days if they put the funds in an sbi deposit scheme, although rib matured on October 1. SBI is also offering at par facility to bond-holders who are reinvesting ribs through Citibank branch in New York, sbi’s branches in London, Hong Kong and Germany. NRIs can also get on-the-spot credit if they are reinvesting rib funds in sbi schemes, Jashnani said. NRIs who intends to encash their ribs can do so in all major hard currencies at the going rate. The bank had pegged the interest rates on the two schemes at a much lower rate of 3.1 per cent for Samriddhi and 1.2 per cent for Vaibhav after RBI capped nre deposit rates at 1.0 per cent above Libor. State Bank of India had to rework its special deposit schemes earlier after RBI capped the nre rates 2.5 per cent above Libor two months ago. “Even with the new schemes and initiatives, sbi will easily be able to meet the target or retaining 30 per cent of rib proceeds,” Jashnani said.
