RBI partially eases curbs on SBM Bank till Mar 15 for customers' relief

On Jan 23, RBI had asked the lender to immediately stop transactions under LRS, following certain material supervisory concerns observed in the bank

The Reserve Bank of India has partially relaxed restrictions on SBM Bank India by allowing ATM/POS transactions under Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) through its KYC compliant internationally active debit cards. This relaxation, available only till March 15, has been made to provide relief to affected customers of the bank, RBI said on Tuesday.

On January 23, RBI had asked SBM Bank (India), the Indian subsidiary of State Bank of Mauritius, to immediately stop transactions under LRS, following certain material supervisory concerns observed in the bank.

RBI said the bank has since initiated corrective action and made submission for relaxation of the restrictions.

LRS refers to external remittances by resident individuals for purposes like studies abroad, medical treatment, maintenance of close relatives, and investments and travel. The LRS scheme allows Indian residents to send up to $250,000 abroad each financial year.

SBM started operations in India on December 1, 2018. It was the first universal bank in the country to get a banking licence from RBI through the wholly-owned subsidiary (WOS) route. Globally, it is part of SBM Group.

According to SMB Bank (India)'s annual report for 2021-22, it has over 300 team members serving over four million clients across the country. It has a physical presence in eight locations, backed by an advanced digital solutions infrastructure.

Its total deposits were up 76.4 per cent YoY to Rs 6,799.44 crore at the end of March 2022, from Rs 3,855.18 crore a year earlier. Its loan book or advances rose 49.2 per cent from Rs 2,917.33 crore at end of FY21 to Rs 4,355.57 crore at the end of FY22.