Yes Bank moratorium may end within a week: Kumar

The inconvenience and uncertainty faced by Yes Bank depositors may be short-lived as State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Rajnish Kumar has said the moratorium could be lifted within a week.

Assuring depositors of safety of their hard-earned money, Kumar said once the state-run lender stepped in there shouldn’t be any worry about money as the financial system was sound, according to media reports. It would be business as usual for Yes Bank with SBI’s entry, Kumar assured depositors. His statement gains significance as both depositors and investors are concerned about the bank’s future and capital adequacy.

Prashant Kumar, the RBI-appointed administrator, has also said efforts are on to lift the moratorium before the April 3 deadline and it could be lifted as early as Saturday. According to the administrator, there should not be any issue on the liquidity front.

As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) draft reconstruction scheme for the crisis-hit private lender, the SBI will take up 49 per cent in the bank by investing Rs 2,450 crore.

On Thursday, the RBI placed Yes Bank under moratorium and capped the withdrawal limit at Rs 50,000 till April 3.

The SBI Chairman also said he didn’t receive any direction from the government and the bank was closely working with the apex bank.

Kumar’s statement comes a day after Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) Krishnamurthy Subramanian said there was no reason to worry as Indian banks had adequate capital.

The RBI last week also superseded Yes Bank’s board of directors and appointed former SBI CFO Prashant Kumar as administrator.

The new board of directors will stand constituted from the appointed date. It will comprise a CEO and MD, non-executive chairman and non-executive directors. The SBI will have nominee directors appointed on the board of the reconstructed bank.

NEFT and IMPS transactions enabled

Yes Bank, which is under moratorium, provided some relief to its customers who can now make certain payments through instant money transfer services – National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Immediate Payment Service (IMPS).

In a post on Twitter, Yes Bank said its customer can pay “their credit card dues” and “loans from other bank accounts” using the two wire transfer services.

The moratorium on withdrawals and difficulty in withdrawing amounts from bank ATMs and branches has put the customers in a lot of difficulties.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) superseded Yes Bank’s board and took control of the private sector lender last week, and also capped withdrawals from its accounts.

“Inward IMPS/NEFT services have now been enabled. You can make payments towards YES BANK Credit Card dues and loan obligations from other bank accounts. Thank you for your co-operation.@RBI @FinMinIndia”, Yes Bank said in a tweet.