In offer for PMC Bank, Bharat Pe may pay 100% to retail depositors: Report

The collapse of UCBs like Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC Bank) has added to the customers’ distrust.

In a joint bid for Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank, BharatPe and Centrum could pay back 100 percent to retail depositors, who want to withdraw.

Bharat Pe and Centrum have submitted a combined offer for the troubled lender, The Times of India reported. "BharatPe and Centrum are finalising a strong bid. After submitting the bid, the RBI is expected to meet the bidders one-on-one to pick the winning offer," a source told the newspaper.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had not responded to queries sent by The Times of India.

Sanjeev Gupta-led Liberty Group, which had also submitted a bid for PMC Bank, said the cancellation of flights between India and the UK had made conducting due diligence difficult, the report said.

The RBI had extended the deadline for bids to February 1 after a request by Liberty Group, the report said.

A spokesperson of the Liberty Group and BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover declined to comment.

Two other independent business families, who had submitted expressions of interest (EoIs) for PMC Bank, are no longer in the running, the report said.

The central bank on December 18 said PMC Bank had received four expressions of interest and also extended the restrictions on the lender to March 31, 2021.