Yes Bank depositors’ money safe; FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday assured cash-starved Yes Bank depositors that their money is safe and the RBI is working on an early resolution of the issue. She said the steps taken are in the interest of depositors, banks and the economy. The Reserve Bank on Thursday imposed a moratorium on the capital-starved Yes Bank, capping withdrawals at Rs 50,000 per account and superseded the board of the private sector lender with immediate effect.

Yes Bank will not be able to grant or renew any loan or advance, make any investment, incur any liability or agree to disburse any payment. Sitharaman insisted the immediate priority to ensure Yes Bank customers are able to withdraw money within Rs 50,000 limit. For the next month, Yes Bank will be led by the RBI-appointed administrator Prashant Kumar, an ex-chief financial officer of SBI. Yes Bank has been struggling to execute a capital raising plan for the last six months. Its core equity tier-I ratio had slipped to 8.7 per cent as of September.
The bank had also delayed its December quarter results.