India: NRIs deposit Rs2.29 trillion in Kerala banks

NRI deposits in banks in Kerala rose by 10 per cent in financial year 2020-21 to Rs2.29 trillion as compared to the previous fiscal’s figure of Rs2.08 trillion, according to the state-level bankers committee.

A panel report cited in the media on Saturday revealed domestic deposits in the state also grew by 12 per cent in 2020-21 to Rs3.76 trillion.

“NRIs who have returned in the wake of the pandemic might have transferred their deposits held in accounts abroad to a bank in the country or the state,” a report quoted a senior banker. “Back home, transactions such as real estate have been virtually nil due to the lockdown, which ensured that these NRI deposits remained parked in the banks.”

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With uncertainty about returning abroad for work, many NRIs from Kerala might have transferred all their overseas funds to the state, resulting in the surge, the report cited other bankers. And the rupee depreciation could also have seen a rise in the growth of NRI deposits.

The World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief report had recently noted that about 1.2 million overseas Kerala migrants – out of an estimated 4 million – had returned to the state last year following the Covid crisis.

• India