Yes Bank, ATMs Resume Normal Operation From Wed

Yes Bank will resume normal operations from 6 pm on March 18 and it has no liquidity problem, Administrator of the troubled private sector lender Prashant Kumar said on Tuesday.

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

Kumar 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.”

On March 5, the Reserve Bank of India (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“Only one-third of our customers have withdrawn Rs 50,000 during the moratorium.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,” said Kumar.

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

“We are not against retail shareholders. We are all here to protect them,” he said.

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 reconstitution plan, appointing Kumar as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.

(ANI)