India's banks decline after RBI curbs on forex positions

Axis Bank

30/03/2026 05:04

** Banks .NSEBANK fall 2.5%; Nifty 50 .NSEI drops 1.4%

** On Friday, RBI directed lenders to limit net open positions on rupee in forex market to $100 million at end of each business day, with authorized dealers required to comply by April 10

** Jefferies says, "While this may support INR, unwinding of positions may lead to (mark-to-market) losses in 4Q as positions may be large at $30-40bn with large banks and select foreign banks leading"

** Axis Bank AXBK.NS falls 4.1%, Kotak Mahindra Bank KTKM.NS down 3.4%; top losers on sub-index

** Largest lenders SBI SBI.NS, HDFC Bank HDBK.NS, ICICI Bank ICBK.NS down ~2% each

** YTD, NSEBANK down 14.5%, NSEI down 13.8%

 (Reporting by Vivek Kumar M)

 ((VivekKumar.M@thomsonreuters.com;))