Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Kochi is second office of RBI in the state of Kerala, popularly known as ‘God’s Own Country’. Main Office of RBI is located at Thiruvananthapuram. The genesis of Kochi Office can be traced back to 1970, when the Regional Office of the Foreign Exchange Department (erstwhile Exchange Control Department) in Kerala started functioning from Kochi to cater to the foreign exchange needs of the common men, exporters, enterprises and tourists, due to the frequent representations and appeals from various stake-holders. The Economic Department (now Department of Economic Policy and Research) was a later addition. The Jurisdiction of this Office (FED and DEPR) is the State of Kerala and Lakshadweep.

2. A Currency Chest has been functioning since 2002 to provide facilities for exchange of notes & coins to the public. Customer Education & Protection Cell (CEPC) and Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy Cell (FIFL) have been functioning since 2015 for the benefit of customers of regulated entities in four districts (Ernakulam, Idukki, Palakkad and Thrissur) of the state.

3. Other support services are provided by Human Resource Management Department, Estate Section, Rajbhasha Cell and Protocol and Security Unit. Independent accounting unit started functioning at Kochi with effect from January 2, 1992. Kochi Office also takes care of requirements of more than 782 retirees (327 pensioners and 455 MAF members).

4. Kochi is the commercial and industrial capital of the State. To tap the potential of the natural harbour at Kochi, an international container transhipment terminal has been built. The city also houses, Cochin Stock Exchange (Kerala’s only stock exchange) and Federal Bank, the fourth largest private-sector bank in India. A few top NBFCs of the country are also headquartered in Kochi. Kochi is recognised as one of the seventeen major industrial cities of India by World Bank Doing Business Group. The Headquarters of the Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy is situated here. Cochin Airport, the third busiest international airport in India is the country’s first airport built under PPP model. It is also the first airport in the world that completely operates on solar power. Kochi is the hub of tourism in the state and has also the distinction of receiving the largest foreign and domestic tourist footfalls in the country.