The country’s oldest commercial bank, Bank of Bhutan (BoB) is now planning to establish an office in New Delhi, India.

While bank officials said that it is too early to comment as the process is in the early stages of planning, sources said that an official from the State Bank of India (SBI) who sits on the BoB board is helping with the feasibility report. SBI holds 20 percent of BoB shares, while the remaining 80 percent is held by Druk Holding and Investments.

The idea is supposed to have been conceived at the India-Bhutan strategic dialogue.

During the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on cross border surveillance between the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI), officials from the RMA sought the support of their counterpart in fulfilling the due processes.

While facilitating easy cross border transactions, officials from RMA said the presence of a Bhutanese bank in India is needed to study the emerging trends of the Indian economy as it is closely associated with the local economy.  The bank would also be able to explore investment opportunities in India.

The deputy governor of the RBI, SS Mundra, who is in the country for the MoU spoke on the new developments in the banking sector in India, including the migration to digital channels. He said dedicated banks are being set up to cater to specific sectors of the economy.

These developments, he said, would find relevance for Bhutan in the future.

Staff reporter