The Reserve Bank of India has issued the Reserve Bank of India
(Setting Up of Wholly Owned Subsidiaries by Foreign Banks)
Amendment Guidelines, 2026, vide reference number
RBI/DOR/2025-26/233 dated March 10, 2026, representing a technical
yet significant regulatory refinement to the framework governing
foreign bank operations in India. These amendment
guidelines modify the Reserve Bank of India (Setting Up
of Wholly Owned Subsidiaries by Foreign Banks) Guidelines, 2025,
and emerge from the Reserve Bank's statutory
responsibility to maintain regulatory coherence across
the banking sector. The amendments specifically address the
prudential norms applicable to dividend declaration by wholly owned
subsidiaries of foreign banks, ensuring alignment with the
concurrent Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks, Prudential
Norms on Declaration of Dividends and Remittance of Profit)
Directions, 2026, and reinforcing the principle of competitive
neutrality between foreign bank
