Yes Bank administrator Prashant Kumar reassures safety of deposits

As banking services resuming fully at Yes Bank, administrator Prashant Kumar on Thursday once again assured depositors about the safety of their money and said there is ample liquidity with the bank.

Kumar is the MD and CEO designate of the reconstructed Yes Bank.

The banking services resumed at 6 pm on March 18, 2020, and customers were able to get full services by visiting the branches from March 19, 2020.

"The bank has ample liquidity and there is no need to depend on external sources," Kumar said in a statement.

Bank branches will open one hour earlier at 8.30 am from March 19 to 21, 2020, so as to serve the customers better.

The bank has also extended banking hours across branches for its senior citizen customers, from March 19 to March 27, 2020 - 4.30 pm to 5.30 pm.

"Yes Bank has taken adequate measures to restore banking services and ensured that the branches and ATMs have an adequate supply of cash. However, there is no need to need for customers to rush for withdrawals and there is absolutely no issue on the liquidity front," Kumar said.

Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, State Bank of India (SBI) said that the state-run lender will not sell even a single share of the 49 per cent stake it has picked up in Yes Bank before the three-year lock-in period.

As part of the credible and sustainable reconstruction plan, an eight-member consortium led by SBI has collectively invested more than Rs 10,000 crore in Yes Bank.

Kumar, a former SBI official, also said that the moratorium on the lender has been lifted in 13 days because of support from the government, RBI and other financial institutions.

Besides, rating agency Moody's has also upgraded Yes Bank's long-term foreign-currency issuer and foreign currency senior unsecured bond programme.

Its credit outlook has been changed to positive.