Mumbai, October 10: Agitating customers of the Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank on Thursday staged a protest outside an office of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Mumbai. The PMC customers also attempted to barge into the BJP office at Nariman Point, leading to a ruckus. The protest disrupted a planned press conference of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. After PMC Bank Crisis, Lakshmi Vilas Bank Lands in Soup; Normal Transactions at Branches to Remain Unaffected.

A chaotic scene ensued outside the BJP office with PMC Bank customers raising slogans for justice. "I don't know what they're doing and don't care what they're doing. I want my money back. I won't be able to earn again whatever I have put in the bank," Krishna, a PMC Bank depositor, said. Sitharaman then invited protesting customers for a meeting. Following the meeting, she addressed media houses. Suspended PMC Bank MD Says Withdrawal Limit for Depositors Could Soon Be Rs 1 Lakh.

The RBI on September 24 had barred the PMC Bank from carrying out a majority of its routine business transactions for a six-month period. The central bank had also allowed depositors to withdraw only Rs 1,000 from their accounts, triggering panic among depositors. The action was taken after the central bank found certain irregularities in the bank, including under-reporting of NPAs and had put restrictions on fresh lending.

On September 26, the withdrawal limit for customers was raised to Rs 10,000. On October 3, the RBI again raised the withdrawal limit to Rs 25,000 from Rs 10,000. However, other restrictions such as granting or renewing loans and advances, making any investments, incurring any liability, including borrowal of funds or accepting fresh deposits, among others, without the prior written approval from RBI, were sustained.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 10, 2019 01:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).