PMC Bank account holder can withdraw Rs 25,000 in six months as RBI enhances limit

In a major relief to the beleaguered Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank customers, the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday enhanced the withdrawal limit for depositors to Rs 25,000 in six months from the current Rs 10,000 during the same period. RBI Chief General Manager Yogesh Dayal in a press release stated that the decision has been taken after reviewing PMC Bank's liquidity position and in order to reduce the hardships faced by the depositors.

"It may be recalled that the Reserve Bank of India had permitted the depositors of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank Ltd to withdraw up to Rs 10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand Only) of the total balance in their accounts. The Reserve Bank of India again reviewed the bank’s liquidity position and, with a view to reducing the hardship of the depositors, has decided to further enhance the limit for withdrawal to ₹ 25000 (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand Only)," the release pointed out

"With the above relaxation, more than 70% of the depositors of the bank will be able to withdraw their entire account balance. The Reserve Bank is monitoring the position of the bank and will continue to take necessary steps in the interest of depositors. The Reserve Bank has also decided to appoint a Committee of three Members in terms of section 36AAA(5)(a) read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act 1949, to assist the Administrator of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank Ltd," it added.

According to the investigators, PMC Bank officials opened around 21,049 dummy accounts which were not even linked to the bank's CBS to hide loans given to defaulters. The loan amount is estimated to be Rs 4355.46 crore.

Earlier on Thursday, two of the biggest alleged defaulters were arrested by Mumbai Police in connection with the case. The arrested duo is Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited Vice Chairman and MD Sarang Wadhawan and its Whole Time Director Rakesh Wadhawan.

A detailed investigation revealed that PMC Bank had 44 accounts which had failed to pay back the huge loans. Out of these 44, 10 accounts belonged to HDIL and the Wadhawans.