Yes Bank, the crisis-hit private sector lender, is hopeful of the moratorium being lifted by this Saturday much before the deadline on April 3, an administrator appointed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Monday.
RBI had last Thursday taken control of Yes Bank after it failed to raise the capital it needs to stay above mandated regulatory requirements and said it was working on a revival plan. Yes Bank’s board was superseded and Prashant Kumar was named as its administrator.
It had placed the bank, which had over Rs 2.09 lakh crore in deposits, under a 30-day moratorium and imposed limits on withdrawals to protect depositors.
The limit on withdrawals was kept at Rs 50,000 every 30 days sending customers queueing at the bank’s ATMs and branches on Friday and Saturday to retrieve their deposits.
The State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, said on Saturday it was ready to for a 49% stake in Yes Bank as part of an RBI-backed rescue plan.
“We are working out a fast resolution mechanism and the moratorium might be lifted as early as Saturday. SBI needs to put in the money first and then the moratorium would end,” Prashant Kumar, the former chief financial officer of State Bank of India, said, according to Mint.
The news about the lifting of the moratorium will come as a relief to Yes Bank’s customers facing restrictions on withdrawing money from the bank.
Kumar also assured depositors their money was safe and that normal banking operations might resume as early as Friday.
Prashant Kumar also told news agency Press Trust of India that the final approval from the central bank to the SBI-led resolution plan would result in Yes Bank coming out of the moratorium. He also said that the lifting of the restrictions does not depend on the capital raising plan.
Kumar, however, said that the bank continues to look for capital and called it one of his top priorities along with restoring depositors’ confidence.
Yes Bank’s founder Rana Kapoor was questioned for 20 hours and ultimately, arrested on charges of money laundering on Sunday by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and his residence raided.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), too, was probing 62-year-old Kapoor and his family for alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating and corruption.
On Saturday evening, CBI filed a case against Kapoor, Doit Urban Ventures Pvt Ltd, a company linked to his family, Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) and DHFL’s Kapil Wadhawan. HT first reported on Sunday that CBI, too, was moving to probe Kapoor.
CBI also opened lookout circular against the seven accused, Rana Kapoor, Bindu Rana Kapoor, their daughters Radha, Raakhe and Roshini in connection with Yes Bank crisis.
