In Relief To PMC Bank Depositors, Reserve Bank Enhances Withdrawal Limit To Rs 40,000

In partial relief to thousands of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank depositors, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday enhanced the withdrawal limit to Rs 40,000 from the existing Rs 25,000. "The Reserve Bank of India, after reviewing the bank's liquidity position and its ability to pay its depositors has decided to further enhance the limit for withdrawal to Rs. 40,000, inclusive of Rs. 25,000 allowed earlier," the central bank said in a statement.

In a sudden decision, the RBI last month imposed operational restrictions on Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC Bank). Withdrawals had been capped at Rs 1,000 per account and the bank was not allowed to make any fresh loans due to massive under-reporting of dud loans. However, after massive protets by the bank's depositors and the pressure from the Opposition parties, the central bank had raised the withdrawal limit to 10,000 and then 25,000, subsequently.

The move follows the weekend assurance by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to urge the Reserve Bank to look into the woes of the depositors of the cooperative bank with urgency, after irate depositors met her.

Also Read | PMC Bank Case: Nirmala Sitharaman Meets Customers, Says RBI Taking Required Action

Meanwhile,  The Enforcement Directorate on Monday said that it has seized and identified assets worth Rs 3,830 crore in the PMC Bank money laundering case. The central probe agency said it is valuing a number of properties of Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL), its directors, promoters, Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank officials and others.

The identified assets will soon be attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). "Further probe is in progress to identify and locate the balance proceeds of crime," the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said in a statement. The ED case is based on an FIR filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police. The central agency had conducted raids in the case early this month.

(With agency inputs)