German banking major Deutsche Bank will set up an IFSC-Banking Unit (IBU) at India’s first International Financial Services Centre at GIFT City (GIFT IFSC). The GIFT SEZ Authority on Thursday accorded approval to the European lender to set up an IBU making it the 17th IBU to come at the country’s first IFSC.
An Illustrious Legacy
The bank currently has over ₹19,000 crore of capital deployed in its India branch operations, would now look to carry out international business transactions from the IBU at GIFT-IFSC. “The banking unit will allow us to expand the services available to our clients to smoothly carry out international business transactions, particularly in the areas of Financing, Trade and Currencies,” said Kaushik Shaparia, CEO, Deutsche Bank India. “With borders between global financial centers increasingly blurring, establishing a presence at the IFSC in GIFT City was the next logical step for us as we seek to support the growth aspirations of our clients,” he added.
Deutsche Bank has global network spread across 59 countries, is among the largest international banks operating in India for over 40 years. It offers services across Corporate Banking, Investment Banking and its International Private Bank. The Deutsche Bank Group currently employs more than 18,000 people across its various entities in the country.
With the latest Deutsche Bank IBU, the total number of IBUs at GIFT-IFSC will increase to 17. Since being established in 2015, the International Financial Services Centre at GIFT City has attracted leading international and domestic players across the financial services spectrum. The Banking transactions at the GIFT IFSC has crossed USD 100 billion in value by the end of July 2021.
New Opportunities
“We welcome Deutsche Bank, one of the leading European banks to launch its offshore banking operations at GIFT IFSC. This will serve as a primer for renowned banks from other geographies to consider GIFT City a viable destination for international financial services,” said Tapan Ray, MD & Group CEO, GIFT City.
Adding further, he said, “Progressive banking regulations in GIFT IFSC provides new business opportunities in several areas for foreign banks such as FPI Business, Non-Deliverable Forwards (NDF), Aircraft leasing- financing, and upcoming framework to enable international bullion exchange operations from GIFT IFSC.”