PANJIM: After Mapusa Urban Cooperative Bank and Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC), now Yes Bank is put under moratorium by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) till April 3, 2020.
The RBI directive applies to both current and savings accounts, under which YES Bank customers cannot withdraw more than Rs 50,000 in a month. This order came into effect from 6 pm on Thursday. This fresh order has not only dented the confidence of the customers in the banking system but also bewildered them on what to do next.
One of the customers of Yes Bank, Panjim Branch, 40-year old small business man Narayan Mergo from Carenzalem said that, “the withdrawal amount for a month is too less and we will have to adjust. I am worried if I need cash in emergency. Even ATMs are not working.”
Prajakta Ganesh Pai a housewife from Panjim said, “I have been hearing about this for a very long time now but I chose to believe the bank. I am not sure whether Yes Bank will be merged with State Bank of India or not. Thankfully, I had not kept lot of money in this Yes Bank as the rumours which proved true today, were strong enough to alert me. I also believe that this matter cannot be resolved in a month time. We have seen the state of Cooperative Banks and PMC.”
K N Kumar at the age of 55 is a Vastu consultant still believes that Yes Bank is very good and that the staffs is courteous. “It is only happening because of bad debt recovery. The government move towards the economy is very wrong. It is the fault of the government and the regulatory authorities. If everything is digital then how come the government could not find it? Nothing good has happened for the last seven years to mend the sagging economy. All my savings and deposits are now in the Yes Bank, Kumar added.
68-year-old Balwinder Singh, a resident of Kadamba Plateau and retired Army officer, has all this retirement benefits parked in Yes Bank, Panjim Branch. “Only two days ago I deposited some more money in this bank. Now I am unable to transfer my money, online or otherwise. Everything is frozen. The staff is very helpful here. I cannot even guess when this issue will be sorted out. I really do not know what to do now,” Singh said.
According to the directives the bank is not allowed to pay any depositor more than Rs 50,000 without written permission from the RBI during the period of moratorium. This is irrespective of how many accounts a depositor may have in the bank. If the depositor has dues payable to the bank, those will be adjusted first before withdrawal of any amount. In certain emergencies, RBI may permit a Yes Bank depositor to withdraw more than Rs 50,000 but up to Rs 5 lakh.
These circumstances include, medical treatment of the depositor or any person actually dependent on him, towards the cost of higher education of the depositor or any person actually dependent on him for education in India or outside India, to pay obligatory expenses in connection with marriage or other ceremonies of the depositor or his children or of any other person actually dependent upon him, in connection with any other unavoidable emergency.