Seylan Bank recently announced the opening of an Indian Rupee (INR) Nostro account with Indian Bank, Mumbai. This development will allow importers and exporters in the two countries to carry out trade transactions in a mutually beneficial manner.
The move follows the recent declaration by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), making the Indian Rupee (INR) a designated foreign currency to promote trade and tourism within the SAARC region.
Speaking on the same, Dilan Wijegoonawardena, Assistant General Manager - International at Seylan Bank PLC said, “Sri Lanka and India enjoy a fruitful and growing economic and commercial partnership with bilateral trade growing rapidly in recent times. The introduction of our Nostro account with Indian Bank is certainly timely and will facilitate trade, remittances and treasury transactions. It is expected that this will further assist our valued Import and Export clients to promote International Trade between the two countries, thus exploring the potential that we have to further strengthen our market.
”
With a presence of over 116 years in the financial services sector of India, this partnership between Indian Bank and Seylan Bank will enable local customers to enter into transactions denominated in INR, eliminating the need to conduct Trade and Remittance transactions in USD or any other currency.