Bank Collapse?

Confusion reigned supreme early morning in the Garden as one after another, account holders of the beleaguered PMC Bank expressed dismay over the fate of their deposits. Razia Khan appeared most distraught as much of her investments, running into several lakhs, remain locked in the bank for no fault of hers.

Razia Khan is agitated over the fate of her deposits

“I broke down yesterday on hearing the news,” she confessed, barely able to suppress her tears. “That money was meant to fund the education of my (college-going) grandkids. There were many women outside the bank also crying. I could just about empty my locker of all valuables.”
There were many others like the Boses and Ved Prakash Grover who were equally distressed after putting all their life's savings in fixed deposits with the bank. As they mentioned, proximity of the local branch, the high interest offered (over other banks), convenient timings and friendly staff were prime factors in reposing their trust with PMC.
Now, in the absence of any official assurance on how secure the deposits are, speculation ran riot, some even suggesting that the crisis was politically engineered in view of the state elections next month.

Mohar Singh (ext left) joins us for the exercises today

Eventually the government would step in and provide relief to depositors as it had done with other stressed out banks in the past.
Bihari Milwani had a different take though. As a C.A. and given his familiarity with the banking sector, he posed a simple question: If you are short of funds, how will you be able to repay your depositors? “In a best case scenario, you may be able to retrieve 60 per cent of your deposits,” he opined.
Some optimists argued that it is too early to jump into any conclusion and for the moment, we should rather wait and watch. Daulat Ram (a regular in the garden and PMC account holder) advised that it is better to remain calm and not panic as the situation would sort itself out on its own before the election. But Mohar Singh was to have the last word: “I don’t understand why people are so hung up on banks. It is like a nasha, an addiction. I have no account in any bank. And see how happy I am.”
He extended his moral support by joining us for the exercises!

Lt Col Angad Singh (rtd):
This is a lesson for everyone. One should not keep an account in any such private bank. That said, account holders must now agitate and agitate loudly. Confront all the candidates standing for the assembly election. If they want votes normalcy must be restored and customers should have easy access to their money. All avenues must be exploited.

Bhaswati Bose:
Mohar Singh could hardly provide any moral support. So disturbed were we that we abandoned the exercises midway.