Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman on Friday assured Yes Bank depositors that their money is safe and there will be no loss to any of them.
"I'm in continuous interaction with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The central bank is fully seized of the matter and has assured they will give a quick resolution. I want to assure every depositor that their money shall be safe. Their monies are safe," Sitharaman was quoted by PTI news agency as saying.
She said the steps taken are in the interest of depositors, banks and the economy. "We are fully of seized of the development. RBI governor has assured me that there will be no loss to any depositor," she added.
The minister's reaction came a day after RBI suspended Yes Bank's board for a period of 30 days for serious deterioration in the financial position of the bank and imposed a withdrawal limit of Rs 50,000 on its account holders till April 3.
Meanwhile, SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar said that 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 reporters.
Yes Bank shares were down to 15.10 from Rs 21.70 (58.97 per cent). State Bank of India in a late night information on Thursday to exchanges said its board has given in-principle approval to explore an investment opportunity in Yes Bank.
Earlier, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said 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. He said that the Yes Bank issue's resolution will be done very swiftly, within 30 days as the outer time limit. On Thursday, the RBI superseded the Yes Bank board for 30 days and appointed an administrator, putting a cap of Rs 50,000 on withdrawal by account holders for a month.
(With agency inputs)