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Small investors pick up money in haste Thursday, September 20, 2001

TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: Relieved small depositors came out of the Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank's (MMCB) branches waving wads of currency notes on Tuesday as the bank started returning clients' money which had been stuck up for the last six months since the fiasco caused by Ketan Parekh. By evening, an amount close to Rs 1 crore had been paid to the customers.

For many customers, who had virtually given up hope of recovering their money, this was a moment of joy which came after months of trauma. The return of depositors' money with value of less than Rs 1 lakh is the first step towards revival of the bank under the Rs 1,100-crore revival package. Depositors are being returned money out of the money paid by the Depositors Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation.

"I was the first person to get back money from MMCB's head-office branch, after having sent my man to stand in the queue since 5 a.m.," said Yashwantbhai S Panchal. "My house had collapsed during the earthquake, and my boss gave me Rs 5,000 as special bonus. Out of this, Rs 1,000 was stuck in my savings account at MMCB when the bank closed. Now I have got back my Rs 1,000 along with Rs 21 as interest," explained a beaming Panchal.

Panchal said: "I still have another Rs 5,000 pending in a fixed deposit (FD). As the addition of interest makes the amount exceed Rs 5000, I will have to come back tomorrow to withdraw this amount as today amounts of upto Rs 5,000 only are being disbursed," he added.

Another depositor, Anjana N Modi, prematurely withdrew her FD of Rs 1,500 from the head-office branch, and was to then go to the Navrangpura branch to withdraw another FD of Rs 1,000. She has two more FDs of Rs 5,000 each, but she will withdraw them prematurely tomorrow. "I am withdrawing all my money from MMCB, that too prematurely, as I am not sure what will happen to the bank a few weeks from now," said Anjana Modi.

The general mood among MMCB depositors was to withdraw whatever they could. Even if they had to forego the higher interest rate offered by MMCB.

Crowds at the branches were not very big. At the head-office, there were around 30 depositors standing in queue, with about an equal number of policemen. Depositors were being allowed inside the bank in groups of 4-5, and most came out with their money in around five minutes.

The Nav Gujarat Banks Customers Protection Council (NGBCPC), an association formed after the closure of MMCB, was making its presence felt with its volunteers running around to control and help the depositors. "We have a core team of around 50 volunteers, all businessmen, who are actively working to help all MMCB depositors," said a volunteer of the association.

R M Shah, acting CEO of MMCB, said the bank had extended work at the customer counters by two hours so as to cope with the large number of depositors. "Over the next one week, we hope to clear most deposits of upto Rs 15,000. Thereafter, we will work out the repayment schedule for depositors with over Rs 15,000 investments," he said.

News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]

 

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