RBI asks banks to cease constructing positions in offshore market – bankers

The Reserve Bank of India, in search of to arrest the rupee’s slide, is asking native banks to not construct extra positions within the non-deliverable ahead market, a transfer that would result in offshore volatility spilling into native markets, bankers and merchants mentioned.

The build-up of positions on this section of the market is forcing the RBI to spend extra reserves to defend the rupee, one of many bankers mentioned.

The RBI’s casual communication to native bankers is a step again from the instructions it issued in June 2020, when it allowed banks working from the International Financial Services Centre Banking Units to commerce within the NDF section.

The central financial institution’s transfer in 2020 got here after research confirmed that the overseas bank-dominated NDF market, over which the RBI had little affect, fuelled volatility and sometimes led the spot rupee decrease in occasions of stress. Letting Indian banks commerce within the section would give RBI extra management.

However, elevated buying and selling within the section has created greater demand for {dollars} at a time when the spot rupee is already beneath stress, forcing the RBI to intervene by greenback gross sales.

The RBI had most likely assessed that the NDF was “nullifying the impact of their intervention,” and was growing liquidity within the ahead market, each of which it doesn’t need. Anindya Banerjee, head of analysis -forex and rates of interest at Kotak Securities, mentioned.

Meanwhile, the rupee’s swift decline in current days had led to arbitrage alternatives between the onshore and offshore charges. The arbitrage will increase demand for {dollars} onshore whereas offering extra liquidity offshore.

For occasion, the USD/INR NDF 1-month charge is at the moment 7 paisa greater than the corresponding onshore charge and the 3-month ahead charge is about 25 paisa greater.

About two weeks again, this distinction was at close to 2 paisa and eight paisa, respectively.

To benefit from this arbitrage, eligible banks may purchase spot {dollars} onshore and pay 1-month premium whereas promoting USD/INR 1-month within the NDF market.

“When you arbitrage, you use dollar leverage and that, we think, has become a concern for the RBI,” mentioned Abheek Barua, an economist at HDFC Bank.

“Now that banks are not being allowed, the NDF will start having more of an influence (on the rupee exchange rate),” he mentioned, including the extent of the affect would rely on the general RBI intervention.

Bankers argue that the RBI’s curbs on the exercise of banks on NDF is not going to ease stress on the rupee. Instead, it might result in offshore charges as soon as once more having extra affect on the rupee trade charge.

“The problem is that with banks now told to step aside, the difference between NDF and onshore will persist,” a dealer at a overseas financial institution mentioned.

Bankers advised Reuters that the RBI had clamped down on outright exercise on the NDF. Trading ahead foundation factors, or the distinction between two maturities, remains to be allowed.

The RBI didn’t reply to an e mail in search of remark.