RBI hikes withdrawal cap to Rs 10,000 from Rs 1,000 for PMC Bank customers

The amount is the maximum one can withdraw in six months, and includes the Rs 1,000 withdrawal allowed earlier

PMC Bank Crisis: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday increased the withdrawal limit for depositors in Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC) to Rs 10,000 from Rs 1,000 earlier.

“The relaxation has been granted with a view to reducing the hardship of the depositors. The Reserve Bank is closely monitoring the position and shall continue to take further steps as are necessary to safeguard the interest of the depositors of the bank,” the RBI said in a statement.

The amount is the maximum one can withdraw in six months, and includes the Rs 1,000 withdrawal allowed earlier. So the additional the customer can withdraw now is Rs 9,000. This was done “on a preliminary assessment of the bank’s latest depositor and liquidity profile as furnished by the administrator,” the RBI said. With the relaxation, “more than 60 per cent of the depositors of the bank will be able to withdraw their entire account balance,” the RBI said in a statement.

The statement said the RBI was forced to clamp down on deposit withdrawal from the bank “on account of major financial irregularities, failure of internal control and systems of the bank and wrong/under-reporting of its exposures under various off-site surveillance reports to RBI that came to the Reserve Bank’s notice recently.”