UCO Bank becomes first lender to get RBI's approval for rupee trade

Many banks in India are planning to open such special vostro accounts for settling trade transactions with other nations

Public sector lender UCO Bank has received the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) approval to open a special vostro account with Gazprombank of Russia for trade settlement in Indian rupees. The Kolkata-based lender is the first bank to receive regulator’s approval following the RBI’s decision to allow Indian banks to settle trade in Indian currency in July.

The Russian lender, which was set up by world’s largest gas producer and exporter Gazprom to provide banking services for gas industry enterprises has been operating since 1990. One of the top three banks in Russia, Gazprombank offers a whole range of banking