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INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE BANKING

How can treasury prepare for growing Europe-India trade?

Contributor: Sagar Naik, Johannes Lehleiter, Michael Gehlen, Louisa Weijie Lu

05 May 2026

As Europe-India trade accelerates with new free trade deals, new opportunities are emerging for corporates expanding into one of the world’s fastest-growing markets. But capital controls, liquidity constraints and regulatory complexity continue to shape how those opportunities can be realised. Barclays’ experts assess how treasury strategies should evolve in response.

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Key takeaways

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EU–India and UK–India FTAs accelerate trade but do not remove capital controls.

2.

India offers growing flexibility (INR settlement, GIFT City, ECB reform), but requires hybrid liquidity models.

3.

Treasury design is a strategic differentiator in capturing India growth.

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CHAPTERS

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Capturing the opportunity in India

The opportunity presented by trade deals with India is real for European corporates, and India’s ongoing liberalisation has eased several challenges around the use of INR and, to some extent, trapped cash. Developments such as GIFT City and changes to the ECB framework also deliver meaningful benefits for European companies.

However, India remains complex, with capital flows governed by regulatory frameworks. Corporates need to work with banking partners that can connect local payment rails, provide on-the-ground regulatory expertise and offer cross-border execution with globally consistent solutions and reporting capabilities. By approaching India as a strategic market with its own funding, liquidity and risk architecture, rather than as just an extension of an existing model, corporate treasuries can mitigate many traditional challenges and position themselves to take advantage of further emerging opportunities.

[1] https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-trade-relationships-country-and-region/countries-and-regions/india_en
[2] Barclays Research: FICC EM Strategy, Trade deals continue: India-EU agreement, 30 January 2026
[3] https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDP_RPCH@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD/IND
[4] Barclays Research: FICC EM Strategy, Trade deals continue: India-EU agreement, 30 January 2026
[5] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-india-trade-deal-conclusion-summary/uk-india-trade-deal-conclusion-summary
[6] Barclays Research: FICC EM Strategy, Trade deals continue: India-EU agreement, 30 January 2026
[7] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-india-trade-deal-conclusion-summary/uk-india-trade-deal-conclusion-summary
[8] Barclays Research: FICC EM Strategy, Trade deals continue: India-EU agreement, 30 January 2026
[9] Barclays Research: FICC EM Strategy, Trade deals continue: India-EU agreement, 30 January 2026

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About the experts

Sagar Naik

Head of Payments & Cash Management, India

Sagar leads the Payments & Cash Management Sales team in India and is based in Mumbai. He joined Barclays in early 2023 and brings over 20 years of experience across payments, cash management, trade and coverage roles with some of the largest foreign banks in India.

Johannes Lehleiter

Director, International Corporate Banking

Johannes covers International Corporate Banking clients across Chemicals, Pharma, Healthcare and Media in Germany. He has been with the bank for nearly 2 years and has almost 15 years of banking experience.

Michael Gehlen

Head of Payments & Cash Management, Germany, Barclays Europe

Michael leads the German Payments & Cash Management team at Barclays Europe and is based in Frankfurt. He joined Barclays in early 2024 and brings over 20 years of experience across banking and corporate treasury, with a strong focus on cash management and international operations.

Louisa Weijie Lu

Relationship Director, International Corporate Banking

Louisa is a Relationship Director in International Corporate Banking at Barclays, based in London. She has six years of experiences in covering international corporate relationships across the Consumer and Healthcare sectors, with a focus on delivering tailored banking and treasury solutions.

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How can treasury prepare for growing Europe-India trade?

Key takeaways

1.

2.

3.

Strengthening a pivotal global trading relationship

Three opportunities for treasury teams

Treasury needs a localised response

Capturing the opportunity in India