There is no sign of relief for the depositors of the scam-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank as of now. The RBI on Friday extended restrictions on PMC Bank for three more months till March 31, 2021. According to a notification released by the RBI, PMC Bank has, so far received four Expressions of Interest (EoI) for investment/participation in its reconstruction.
In the first week of November, scam-hit Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC Bank) had invited expressions of interest from investors to take management control of the bank and run its day-to-day operations. In a notice posted on its website, the bank said eligible investors could be financial institutions, individuals or companies, societies, trusts or any other such entities.
The interested parties were asked to submit their EoI by November 20 and proposals by December 15. "These proposals will be examined by the bank with regard to their viability and feasibility taking into account the best interest of the depositors. To undertake this process, the bank would need some more time," read the notification.
Meanwhile, on Friday, several depositors peacefully protested outside the RBI office in Bandra. The angry depositors, who had their life's savings in the bank, are still struggling for their money and have been asking for relief from the RBI and the Finance Ministry.
After detection of the scam last year, the RBI had superseded the PMC board and placed it under regulatory restrictions. The depositors were initially allowed to withdraw only Rs 1,000, with the limit being raised to Rs 1 lakh in cases of dire circumstances. In June this year, the RBI extended the moratorium to December 22.
During the last fiscal year 2019-20, the PMC Bank had registered a net loss of Rs 6,835 crore and had a negative net worth of Rs 5,850.61 crore.