Indian’s apex bank - Reserve Bank of India (RBI) - has issued directions on Tuesday in which it instructed depositors of the PMC Bank will be allowed to withdrawals of only up to Rs. 1,000 ($14) daily of the total balance in every bank account for the next six months. PMC Bank has deposits of over $1.5 billion and advances of over $1.1 billion, as of March 2019.
RBI has also directed the bank to stop almost all banking activities with effect immediately, including lending, taking advances, making any investment, or incurring any liability.
The order sending shock waves in the city trading community and they queued up in front of bank branches.
People are curious, cops had to step in to control the situation at Sion branch #pmcbankpic.twitter.com/592XCaecv3
— Sagar Obhan (@ObhanSagar) September 24, 2019
One of the traders, Praful Shah, claimed that all his savings, around Rs.2500,000 ($35,300) he'd saved for his daughters' marriages, are now frozen. "My lifetime saving getting washed out overnight. Feeling sad," a furious and dejected Shah said.
PMC Bank stops functioning, people crying outside bank branches across MumBai,Thane etc. ( Video credit- Social media)#pmcbank#pmcbankpic.twitter.com/3BNDsY6tOa
— Manoj Pandey (@PManoj222) September 24, 2019
And what should the account holder do on receiving this https://t.co/Ir8x9kxP2Q 1k is all that we can withdraw over 6 months. We stopped keeping cash at home because you encouraged online transaction and now we can't even withdraw our own hard earned money. @nsitharaman#pmcbankpic.twitter.com/WwlTEi6mNU
— Amruta Lokhande (@amrutaloki) September 24, 2019
Some of the annoyed account holders blamed RBI for taking decisions without considering customers’ agony.
"Sitting in AC room you can’t understand problems of people having lacks of rupees in bank you need to give chance for withdrawing money our life is dependent on bank and suddenly you restrict bank," said another bank customer Karan Thakkan.
#PMCBank@PMOIndia@RBI you encouraged us to go digital and we deposited our lifetime savings in this banks and now the Punjab and Maharashtra bank is shut were we should go now.
— surjit jana (@surjit20jana) September 24, 2019
Please help us in getting our money back.
Is this all fine in india .my whole saving is stuck up in the account.I am going to buy my house next month now how should I pay for registration of property #pmcbank@nsitharaman@PMOIndia@AmitShah@HMOIndia
— Mohit Jain (@jainmohit616) September 24, 2019
Seriously fail to understand this 'BAN' decision of @RBI on @PMC_Bank. If this decision is taken after a series of adverse reports, why has it not been informed to account holders in advance #PMCBankpic.twitter.com/OK5KRHlCna
— Sudarshan Kumar (@sudarshankr) September 24, 2019
Nevertheless, RBI has clarified the order should not, per se, be construed as cancellation of the company's banking licence. The bank will continue to undertake its banking business with restrictions till further notice/instruction.