RBI norms to maintain NRE/NRO accounts

Mumbai, June 4 (UNI) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today fixed the minimum networth required by Urban Co-operative Banks (UCB) to maintain Non Resident External Accounts(NRE) and Non-Resident Ordinary Rupee Accounts(NRO) at Rs 25 crore.

UCBs should also posess a Capital-To-Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of minimum 9 per cent and must keep the net ratio of Non Performing Assets (NPA) below 10 per cent.

The RBI directive has come in continuation with its earlier guidelines issued on November 27, prescribing norms for NRE/NRO accounts.

''It has been decided that banks registered in States that have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Reserve Bank for supervisory and regulatory co-ordination and those registered under the Multi State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002 may be permitted to open NRE accounts subject to compliance with the reviewed eligibility norms,'' said an RBI notification today.

The Central Bank, in its directive, has also said that the banks must maintain profits for the preceeding three years and must stand in line with the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) requirements.

UNI