卫星社称，科塔克在新德里举行的2023年《印度经济时报》一个有关企业的活动中称，“我真的觉得，世界上最大的金融恐怖分子是美元。我们所有的钱都存在账户里，而一旦美国的某个人可能说一句——你明早开始没法取钱了——你（的账户）就被冻住了。这就是储备货币的权力。”
报道提到，科塔克还在活动中表示，现在，世界正“拼命寻找一种替代储备货币”，而印度卢比占据这一位置的时机已成熟，印度应该从建立“一个不依赖于任何人的强大框架”开始行动，而为了实现这一目标，可能至少需要10年的时间才能做好准备。报道称，科塔克还对欧洲、英国、日本或中国的货币取代美元作为储备货币的前景表示怀疑。
科塔克的言论引起关注和争议，报道称，他于30日在推特上发文，试图给自己的言论降调。
“在最近一次关于美元的讨论中，我无意中使用了‘金融恐怖分子’这个词，我想对此纠正一下。我的意思是，储备货币具有不成比例的权力，无论是在往账、加息500个基点，还是新兴国家为了（货币的）流动性而持有美元方面。”
卫星社提到，印度央行2022年推出国际贸易的卢比结算机制。印度央行表示，以卢比结算进出口货物的发票、支付和结算，是为了促进全球贸易的增长，提高全球贸易界对印度卢比的兴趣，推动印度的出口。
Kotak Mahindra Bank MD and CEO Uday Kotak says he inadvertently called USD ‘biggest financial terrorist’, here is what he meant
Uday Kotak (Representative Image)Kotak Mahindra Bank’s MD and CEO, Uday Kotak, made a significant remark against the US dollar on Friday. At a panel discussion for the ET Awards for Corporate Excellence 2023, he referred to the dollar as “the biggest financial terrorist in the world.”
He said, “all our money is in nostro accounts and somebody in the US can say- you cannot withdraw it from tomorrow morning- and you are stuck. That is the power of the reserve currency. I think we are at a crucial time in the world history where the world is desperately looking for an alternative reserve currency.”
He contrasted this dire condition with the current situation, in which the world is frantically searching for an alternative reserve currency, and emphasized a significant, once-in-a-hundred-years, chance for India to become the world’s reserve currency by using the Indian Rupee.
“I don’t think Europe can make their currency the reserve, because it is the disunited states of Europe. I don’t think UK or Japan have the heft to be taking that position, though both the British Pound and the Yen are free currencies. China, I think, has a major issue of trust with many many countries around the world,” he said.
Kotak continued by outlining the conditions that India must meet in order to establish the rupee as a reserve currency. He said, “It is a long, sustained walk and run,” noting that the nation “must create strong institutions.” It must provide a solid foundation that is independent of everyone’s whims and inclinations. India must be believed, he affirmed.
However, within 24 hours, Kotak corrected himself.
In a tweet, he said, “What I meant was that a reserve currency has disproportionate power, whether it is nostro account, 500 bps rate increase, or emerging countries holding $ for liquidity.”
Note: Report updated with his clarification tweet.
