RBL loses 3% of its deposits in a week
MUMBAI: Some institutional depositors and state government entities withdrew a total of 3% of private sector l ender RBL Bank’s deposits in the past week following the debacle at bigger rival YES Bank Ltd.
RBL Bank said there was, however, no material impact on retail deposits. As of December 31, its total deposits stood at ₹62,907 crore, of which ₹16,855 crore were in current and savings accounts. While 73.2% of its total deposits were in term deposits, 16.4% and 10.4% were in savings and current accounts, respectively, as on December 31.
“This issue is being addressed by us on a one-on-one basis with state governments and also at industry levels by the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI). In spite of this, we remain highly liquid with significant retail deposits, institutional lines, refinance, and surplus liquid assets,” RBL Bank said in a statement.
Last week, the central bank wrote to state governments, advising them against withdrawing deposits from private sector banks. “We therefore feel that apprehension on safety of deposits in private sector banks is highly misplaced and as already mentioned, such reactive decision will not be in the interest of stability of financial system in general and banking system in particular,” the RBI letter said.
Concerns about f l i ght of deposits from smaller private banks have intensified after RBI imposed a moratorium on Yes Bank on March 5 as part of a rescue plan for the troubled lender. On March 16, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das assured all depositors of YES Bank that their money is safe.
On Tuesday, RBL Bank reiterated that the lender is financially strong, well-capitalised, profitable, and a growing entity with strong governance. The bank’s shares rose 1.38% to ₹165.15 on BSE.