Foreign Currency Accounts
While dealing in any transaction in foreign currency, be it a purchase of commercial documents, retirement of a bill of exchange under a letter of credit or a remittance, a bank must have accounts (normally current accounts) in foreign currencies with its overseas correspondents through which the transactions in relevant — Currencies can be put. The balances of such foreign currency accounts — debit or credit — are taken into overall financial position of the banks involved. These accounts are known as ‘Nostro’ Vostro’ and ‘Loro’ accounts. ‘Nostro’ accounts mean current accounts of banks maintained in the books of their branches or correspondents in foreign centers in terms of the latter’s currency. For example, in order to meet its requirements for transactions in pound sterling, AB Bank, Cochin maintains an account in pound sterling with its correspondent in the UK, say XY Bank, London. Such an account would be designated Continue reading