There has been a sudden influx of foreign banks looking to set up base in Gift City in Gujarat. While Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Natixis, Societe Generale are the first three financial entities from France who have come forward to set up IFSC Banking Units (IBUs), two banks from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have also made similar applications.
“We have already issued in-principle approval for Natixis and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank to open their IBUs. There has been a sudden rush among banks to come to Gift City. We expect another 5-6 banks to set up their IBUs in the next 3-4 months. The world is now convinced about India and its growth potential,” said K Rajaraman, Chairperson, International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).
Qatar National Bank became the first financial institution from West Asia and Africa region to set up a base in Gift City last month.
An IBU set up in Gift City operates like an overseas branch of the bank. It offers products and services to both institutional and corporate clients. It includes USD-denominated deposits, term loans and external commercial borrowings for Indian corporates.
Similarly, First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC and Mashreq Bank PSC from UAE have also made formal applications to set up their respective IBUs. A domestic bank, Bank of Maharashtra, has also applied for setting up an IBU. “Currently there are a total of 31 banks that have set up IBUs in Gift City of these 14 are foreign banks,” Rajaraman added. Till March 2022, there were only 15 IBUs in Gift City. The numbers have more than doubled in the last three years to 29 by the end of March 2025. The recent approvals to Natixis and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank have taken the total number of IBUs to 31.
Yes Bank was the first bank to set up an IBU in Gift City in October 2015. As of March 2025, the IBUs have a cumulative asset of around $88,500 million which includes investments, trade finance, commercial loans, retail loans and interbank placements.
Some of the early movers have expanded their operations in Gift City. For instance, Standard Chartered Bank, which was the first foreign bank to open an IBU, expanded its operations in Gift City by shifting to a larger office in April 2025. Similarly, even domestic banks like Axis Bank have expanded their operations in Gift IFSC, taking up three times larger office space in November 2024.