The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday decided to raise the criteria for “bulk deposits” for banks to Rs 2 crore from Rs 1 crore now, a move that will provide more operational freedom to lenders to raise funds.

Banks have been given the discretion to offer a differential rate of interest on these deposits according to their requirements and asset-liability management projections. Interest rates on bulk deposits are marginally higher than on smaller-amount fixed deposits for a similar maturity period.

In a statement, the RBI said with a view to enhancing the operational freedom of banks in raising deposits, it is proposed to revise the definition of bulk deposits “as single rupee deposits of Rs 2 crore and above”. It also proposed that banks would maintain their bulk deposit interest rate cards in the core banking system for supervisory review.

The instructions regarding bulk deposits were last reviewed in January 2013 and defined as single rupee deposits of Rs 1 crore and above.

In another reform that could lead to more foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) tapping the domestic corporate bond market, the central bank did away with a provision that an FPI cannot have an exposure of more than 20 per cent of its corporate bond portfolio in a single corporate.

While foreign investors were exempted from this requirement only on their new investments till end-March 2019, this relaxation was aimed at incentivising them to maintain a portfolio of assets.

“Market feedback indicates that FPIs have been constrained by this stipulation. In order to encourage a wider spectrum of investors to access the Indian corporate debt market, it is now proposed to withdraw this provision,’’ the central bank said.

The RBI further said it would “shortly” take a decision on a proposal for setting up an umbrella organisation for urban cooperative banks. The proposal was mooted by the National Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks and Credit Societies Ltd.