The State Bank of India (SBI) has started providing a full range of banking services from its base in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
India’s leading bank has been granted a full banking licence from Dubai’s financial regulator, which allows the DIFC branch to accept deposits and provide credit, the bank said in a statement on Tuesday.
The branch will “provide trade finance and short-term working capital loans including letters of credit and bank guarantees, term loans, project finance and as well as syndication of credit requirements at highly competitive rates,” the statement said.
“The branch can arrange and advise on the investment products of the State Bank Group and other reputed fund houses. It can also accept deposits from non-UAE-based professional clients in US dollars, Euros and GBP,” it added.
Indian expats make up about 33 percent of the UAE population, yet only Bank of Baroda had a licence to operate until now. Baroda’s branches have since been closed.
“Over the past year, an increasing number of banking and financial institutions from major Asian emerging markets like India have been establishing a presence in DIFC,” said Abdulla Al Awar, CEO of the DIFC Authority.
“DIFC seeks to establish stronger linkages with the financial sectors of India and other Asian markets through targeted outreach programmes,” he said.
“The expansion of the SBI’s services out of DIFC is a clear testimony to the vast opportunities that the region’s financial services industry offers banking firms,” said Dr Omar Bin Sulaiman, Governor of the DIFC and vice chairman of the UAE Central Bank.
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