Heard on the Street: Pvt bank faces forex losses

Talk of a private bank major facing Rs 200-cr forex losses grips Street

A top private bank is contemplating complaining to the regulator against a public sector bank trader who is supposedly spreading rumours that the private lender would halt trading in foreign exchange forwards for a month. The rumour mill is that the private lender has suffered marked-to-market losses of almost Rs 200 crore in forex forward trading. But, the private bank insiders deny this. Private bank officials say that the division has reported healthy profits amid volatility in currencies. It was also rumoured that the private bank communicated its decision to stop trading to brokers, which execute trades in the forex forward on its behalf. Forex brokers said they were not aware of such a development.

Contributed by Nishanth Vasudevan