RBI appoints AK Dixit as new administrator of PMC Bank

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed former Union Bank of India general manager AK Dixit as the new administrator of crisis-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank with effect from September 23. The present administrator Jai Bhagwan Bhoria has stepped down on September 22 due to health reasons.

"It has been decided to appoint AK Dixit, ex-General Manager, Union Bank of India as the new Administrator of the bank with effect from September 23, 2020," RBI said in a notification.

Mumbai-based PMC Bank has been placed under directions of the RBI since September 23, 2019 after the central bank superseded the troubled lender's board and appointed Jai Bhagwan Bhoria as the administrator of the bank. The directive is presently valid till December 22, 2020.

The central bank had imposed restrictions on the urban cooperative bank after it discovered that the lender allegedly created fictitious accounts to hide over Rs 6,700 crore in loans extended to the almost-bankrupt Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL).

Also Read: Rajya Sabha passes bill to bring cooperative banks under RBI's ambit

The RBI said that the administrator of PMC Bank in coordination with the central bank have been exploring various options for resolution of the beleaguered PMC Bank. However, several factors such as huge losses incurred by the bank resulting in its entire net worth getting wiped out, steep erosion in deposits, continue to pose serious challenges in finding a workable plan for its revival.

The bank has also been making efforts for recovery of bad loans although the progress has been constrained because of the COVID-19 pandemic and legal complexities, it added.

Also Read: PMC Bank scam: ED attaches 3 hotels in Delhi worth Rs 100 crore

PMC Bank along with the RBI are engaging with the stakeholders to explore the possibility of finding a viable and workable solution for the resolution of the bank, the central bank added.

Earlier in December last year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had submitted a 7,000-page chargesheet in the PMC Bank fraud case to the PMLA court, naming HDIL promoters Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and his son Sarang Wadhawan, bank's former chairman Waryam Singh, and ex-managing director Joy Thomas.

By Chitranjan Kumar