Archive · 26 Jan 2026
IRFC Explores Swiss Franc Swap to Cut Dollar Risk
The Indian Railway Finance Corp (IRFC) is thinking about changing some of its dollar loans to Swiss francs.
This is because the Indian rupee has been losing value against the dollar, which makes borrowing in dollars more expensive.
The company has about $8 billion in loans from foreign countries, and most of these are in dollars.
By switching some of these loans to Swiss francs, they hope to save money and reduce the risk of losing more money due to currency changes.
However, this move might not always be beneficial because the rupee has sometimes lost more value against the Swiss franc than against the dollar.
The company is also looking at other ways to get money, like helping to fund metro rail projects and working with other organizations to lend money together.
IRFC is exploring swapping part of its $8 billion dollar-denominated loans into Swiss francs to limit foreign exchange losses and lower funding costs.
Nearly 70% of IRFC’s forex loans are dollar-denominated, and a 6% fall in the Indian rupee against the US dollar over the last 12 months has prompted this move.
The company is in discussions with bankers to convert part of its dollar book into alternative currencies or rupee-linked structures to lower its interest cost and currency risk.
IRFC is also looking at refinancing metro rail and rail-linked projects and is working on a co-lending structure with multilateral agencies.
The company has a loan disbursement target of ₹30,000 crore for FY26 and its assets under management (AUM) were at ₹4.75 lakh crore at the end of December.
- Who
- Indian Railway Finance Corp (IRFC)
- What
- Exploring swapping part of its dollar-denominated loans into Swiss francs to limit foreign exchange losses and lower funding costs
- When
- Currently in discussions, potential conversion of $1 billion
- Where
- New Delhi, India
- Why
- To limit foreign exchange losses and lower funding costs amid a free fall in the rupee against the dollar
- Company
- Indian Railway Finance Corp (IRFC)
- Total Overseas Exposure
- $8 billion
- Dollar-Denominated Loans
- 70%
- Yen-Denominated Loans
- 30%
- Potential Swiss Franc Conversion
- $1 billion
- Current Dollar Borrowing Cost
- 8%
- Previous Dollar Borrowing Cost
- 7%
- Loan Disbursement Target for FY26
- ₹30,000 crore
- Assets Under Management (AUM) as of December
- ₹4.75 lakh crore