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Regular-article-logo Wednesday, 24 April 2024

PMC Bank assures to protect depositors interest

Three instances of death and suicide among depositors have so far been reported

PTI Mumbai Published 16.10.19, 12:27 PM
Depositors of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank display placards during a protest over the Reserve Bank of India's curb on the bank, outside Esplanade court in Mumbai, Wednesday, October 16, 2019.

Depositors of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank display placards during a protest over the Reserve Bank of India's curb on the bank, outside Esplanade court in Mumbai, Wednesday, October 16, 2019. PTI

Amid instances of deaths and a suicide, troubled PMC Bank's administrator met RBI brass, including governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday.

'It was assured that the bank will make all efforts to safeguard the interests of depositors and other stakeholders,' said the statement from J. B. Bhoria, who was placed as PMC Bank's administrator last month by RBI.

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It also informed that the bank is in the process of recasting its balance sheet to present a 'true and fair picture', according to the press release from Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank's administrator Bhoria.

The meeting with Das, deputy governor and other senior officials of the Central bank came after police authorities confirmed the death of one more depositor, Fattomal Punjabi (61), due to natural causes.

Reports of Punjabi's death come a day after another depositor, Sanjay Gulati (51), died due to a heart attack after participating in a protest, and the suicide of Dr. Nivedita Bijlani.

Both Gulati (Rs 90 lakh) and Bijlani (over Rs 1 crore) had high amounts stuck with the bank, where the RBI has imposed restrictions on withdrawals since September 24, which now stand at Rs 40,000.

Gulati had lost his job with bankrupt private carrier Jet Airways in April and had a specially-abled son to tend to.

The PMC statement said the bank management led by Bhoria apprised governor Das of the position of the bank after relaxation of the withdrawal limits to Rs 40,000.

'It was informed that the bank would expedite the processes of assessment of the realisability of the securities available with the bank and the forensic audit presently underway,' the press release said.

The bank, which is reported to have given over Rs 6,500 crore in loans to a single borrower – realty firm HDIL – of the total loan assets of over Rs 9,000 crore, will be recasting the balance sheet 'at the earliest so as to arrive at the true and fair picture of its accounts,' it said.

Following the discovery of an over Rs 4,000-crore scam at the bank, which has deposits of over Rs 11,000 crore, the Reserve Bank of India last month appointed Bhoria as an administrator, and capped withdrawals at Rs 1,000.

On Monday evening – the same day Gulati died – the withdrawal cap was hiked to Rs 40,000, with the RBI saying that the decision will provide relief to 77 per cent of the depositors.

Real estate firm HDIL allegedly accounted for 70 per cent of the bank's Rs 9,000 crore advances. According to the Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing, HDIL's loans turned into non-performing assets (NPA), but the bank management shielded this huge exposure from the RBI's scrutiny.

The EOW has arrested four persons, including HDIL promoters and former top officials of the bank.

Depositors had confronted finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her visit here last week, seeking assurance that their money was safe.

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