RBI extends restrictions on beleaguered PMC Bank till December 31

RBI has, on June 18, granted 'in-principle' approval to Centrum Financial Services Ltd (CFSL) to take over PMC Bank via small finance bank (SFB) route

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the restrictions placed on Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank till December 31. 

RBI has, on June 18, granted “in-principle” approval to Centrum Financial Services Ltd (CFSL) to take over beleaguered PMC Bank via small finance bank (SFB) route. It has given Centrum 120 days to commence operations.

The approval came as a ray of hope for the PMC depositors who waited anxiously for almost two years after over Rs 10,723 crore were stuck in the crippled cooperative bank that has been under RBI administrator since September 2019.

Taking into account the time required for completion of various activities involved in the process, the Central bank said that it is extending the restrictions.

Jaspal Bindra-led Centrum Capital, the holding entity for CFSL, and its partner BharatPe, a payments system company, will infuse Rs 1,800 crore into the small finance bank.

PMC Bank was placed under curbs in September 2019. Its administrator had floated an expression of interest on November 3, 2020, inviting investors for revival.