Tainted PMC Bank has approached other banks for a possible merger, according to a filing in a court. The bank’s efforts to recover funds, especially from large borrowers have been affected by the corona pandemic and its depositors have been left high and dry. Thousands of depositors have been unable to access their deposits for a year as the RBI has capped withdrawals at ₹ 1 lakh. The bank has not identified the banks it had approached for a possible takeover. The bulk of the bank’s advances has been to just one real estate firm, HDIL, which along with its associates owe the bank Rs 6981 crore. What the bank can realize from the borrowers by way of securities pledged by them was Rs 1160 crore, which is insufficient to meet the requirements of the depositors. PMC Bank is a regional cooperative bank with 137 branches across six states.
