A new bank license has been issued after a gap of almost 6 years, and we thank RBI for the confidence shown in the capabilities of Centrum and BharatPe.
RBI and Centrum-India could not be immediately reached for comments.
The new bank has been named “Unity Small Finance Bank”. Centrum is expected to make a formal announcement late Tuesday.
Earlier on June 18 reserve
On Friday, Centrum Financial Services was given “in-principle” approval to set up a small finance bank through which the non-bank entity would likely merge the businesses of PMC (Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative) Bank, which was given the final licence.
The central bank had said, “The RBI will consider granting a license to commence banking business on being satisfied that the applicant has complied with the necessary conditions laid down by RBI under the ‘in-principle’ approval.”
In September 2019, the central bank placed PMC Bank under its instructions after allegations of money laundering surfaced. Urban Co-operative Bank allegedly created fictitious assets worth over Rs 6,700 crore in the form of loans, which is attributed to?
Infrastructure Limited (HDIL), a tainted entity.
Centrum, a Non-Banking Institution, is looking for opportunities in the banking business. Jaspal Bindra, a renowned global banker, had joined the group five years ago. He is now the chairman of the group.
The regulator pulled socks to get the bank’s new owner as the fall-out left millions of retail depositors in jeopardy for their life savings.
The total deposits of the bank stood at Rs 10,727.12 crore as on March 31, 2020, taking the total loan amount to Rs 4,472.78 crore. The share of gross bad loans was reportedly Rs 3,519 crore.
More than a year ago, the Delhi High Court had directed the RBI and the Center to explain how scam-hit PMC Bank has a “different situation” than its depositors.
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The bank reported a net loss of Rs 6,835 crore in 2019-20 during which its share capital stood at Rs 293 crore, resulting in a negative net worth.