Crisis-hit Yes Bank to resume full banking services from 6 PM today

NEW DELHI:  Yes Bank, the private sector lender on which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had imposed a moratorium, will resume normal operations from Wednesday (March 18, 2020). Yes Bank administrator Prashant Kumar had said on Tuesday that Yes Bank will resume normal operations from 6 pm on March 18. Kumar also claimed that there is no liquidity problem with Yes Bank.

"Our customers will be able to enjoy all the services available before the moratorium. There is absolutely no issue on the liquidity side from Yes Bank. All our ATMs are full of cash," he had said at a press conference.

Kumar had also said there is no need to worry about deposits. "Complete normalcy will be restored. All branches and employees are ready. If there is too much rush of depositors, the bank branches will remain open on weekends as well," he had added.

On March 5, the RBI had imposed a moratorium on Yes Bank, restricting withdrawals to Rs 50,000 per depositor till April 3 in view of its poor financial health due to bad loans.

"Only one-third of our customers have withdrawn Rs 50,000 during the moratorium. The customer feedback is that they do not feel the need to withdraw money from the bank. We have had higher inflows than outflows in the last few days," Kumar had stated.

At the same press meet, State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Rajnish Kumar said that the lender is free to sell shares but assured that not a single share will be sold in the next three years.

"We are not against retail shareholders. We are all here to protect them," he had said. The SBI has announced an investment of Rs 7,250 crore in Yes Bank through the acquisition of 725 crore shares at Rs 10 each.

SBI`s shareholding in Yes Bank after reconstruction will be within the 49 per cent limit. On March 13, the Union Cabinet approved a reconstruction scheme for Yes Bank as proposed by the RBI.

On March 16, Yes Bank approved the reconstruction plan, appointing Kumar as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.