The International Financial Services Centres Authority has issued guidelines for issuance of Certificate of Deposits vide circular dated May 10, 2021.
The guidelines are discussed hereinbelow:
- The Certificate of Deposit is a kind of negotiable instrument issued in dematerialized form against the funds deposited with BU for a specified period. The BUs are permitted to issue a Certificate of Deposit denominated in any convertible foreign currency and up to an amount that will depend on its funding requirements.
- The Certificate of Deposit shall fall within the definition of term security under section 2(za) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act,1999. The minimum amount of Certificate of Deposit should be USD 2500 or an equivalent amount of convertible foreign currency.
- The BUs can issue the Certificate of Deposit to persons resident in India and persons resident outside India as defined in the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. Qualified Individual (‘QI’) or Qualified Resident Individual (‘QRI’) shall not be applicable for investment in Certificate of Deposits. The maturity period of the Certificate of Deposits issued by BUs shall not be less than 7 days and not more than one year, from the date of issue, without any lock-in period other than the minimum maturity period.
- The BUs may issue the Certificate of Deposits at a discount on face value or based on fixed or floating coupon rate.
- The Certificate of Deposits can be issued in physical form or in demat form. The physical form can be freely transferable by endorsement and delivery; and in demat form can be transferred as per the procedure laid down by the depository.
- The BUs shall clearly inform subscribers that the Certificate of Deposits issued by them are not covered by Deposit Insurance and that the Lender of Last Resort (LOLR) facility is not available in IFSC.
- No loans shall be granted by BUs against the Certificate of Deposits. BUs cannot buy-back their own Certificate of Deposits before maturity. Also, since Certificate of Deposits are transferable, the physical certificates may be presented for payment by the last holder.
- The BUs would be responsible for taking necessary precautions to verify the chain of transfers and make payment only by credit to the account of the presenter held with them or with another BU or with the branch of a bank outside IFSCA. In case of payment to an account held in another BU or with the branch of a bank outside IFSCA, the BU shall obtain complete details of the payee and such bank accounts and keep them on record.
*Tanvi Singh, Editorial Assistant has put this story together.