RBI increases PMC Bank withdrawal limit to ₹50,000

PMC Bank was put under regulatory restriction on September 23 after authorities discovered that two-thirds of the bank’s loan exposure was to the bankrupt HDIL

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday raised the withdrawal limit for PMC Bank account holders to ₹50,000. “More than 78% of the depositors of the bank will be able to withdraw their entire account balance,” said the RBI in a press release dated November 11.

Depositors gather outside "Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative bank" of Andheri east in Mumbai. (Ragul KrishnanHT photo)

The RBI has also allowed customers to withdraw cash from the bank’s own ATMs, within the prescribed limit of ₹50,000.

PMC Bank was put under regulatory restriction on September 23 after authorities discovered that two-thirds of the bank’s loan exposure was to the bankrupt HDIL. Initially, the RBI set a daily withdrawal cap of ₹1,000, which was steadily increased over the past weeks. On October 14, the daily withdrawal limit was capped at ₹40,000.

So far, Mumbai Police has arrested five people for their involvement in the ₹4,355-crore fraud. Since the fraud came to light, nine depositors have passed away and barring two cases, the surviving families have held the crisis at PMC Bank responsible for the deaths.