New Delhi, March 6, 2020-
State Bank of India Chairman Rajnish Kumar on Friday said the problem of Yes Bank is “lender-specific” and not a structural issue. He also said that there was no need for anyone to panic.
“The problem at hand is lender-specific and not sectoral,” he told reporters after meeting Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here.
The SBI board on Thurday gave its “in-principle” approval to exploring investment opportunities in Yes Bank but he said there has been no negotiations yet.
“The RBI has said they will come out with a restructuring plan (for Yes Bank),” he added.
The resolution will come “very shortly”, he said.
“This is not a sectoral problem. It is a bank-specific problem. The RBI will take all steps to ensure financial stability,” Rajnish Kumar said. On SBI picking up a stake in Yes Bank, he said the lender already has an in-principle approval for doing so.
The SBI chief also said there is no need to panic on account of developments in the Yes Bank.
“What’s there to panic, no need to panic, all depositors are safe… RBI Governor has said also, just be patient, everything will be fine,” Kumar told the reporters.
Yes Bank shares were down to Rs 15.10 from Rs 21.70, a 58.97 per cent fall.
Earlier RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the Central bank will come out with a scheme very shortly to revive Yes Bank within 30 days.
“We took the step (of putting it under moratorium) when we found that Yes Bank efforts were not working. Depositors’ interests will be fully protected. A decision has been taken not only to deal with the problem in the individual entity but also to maintain the resilience of the Indian financial sector.”
He said that the RBI’s decision on Yes Bank will help maintain the resilience of the financial sector. Yes Bank issue’s resolution will be done very swiftly, within 30 days as the outer time limit, he added.
On Thursday, the RBI superseded the Yes Bank board for 30 days and appointed an administrator, and also put a Rs 50,000 cap on withdrawal by account holders for a month.
The RBI said that the bank’s board was superseded “owing to serious deterioration in the financial position of the Bank”. Former SBI CFO Prashant Kumar was appointed as administrator of Yes Bank. (Agency)
