Mumbai: In the wake of the multi-crore PMC Bank scam, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday promised to amend the statutes in order to curb malpractices in the banking sector.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Ms Sitharaman added that the Centre could table a Bill in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament to regulate multi-state cooperative banks like Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC Bank).
She added that secretaries of the department of financial services and banking were working together with the Union rural development and urban development ministries to study the shortcomings in regulating co-operative banks.
“Ministry of finance has nothing to do with it (PMC Bank scam) directly because RBI is the regulator and they are doing what is to be done as per the law. If necessary, they would also look at the ways in which laws will have to be amended,” she said.
The Union finance minister also said that the study would look into
the prospect of granting more powers to the apex bank in handling matters of banking malpractices.
Earlier in the day, Ms Sitharaman held a meeting with PMC Bank depositors who were protesting outside the state BJP headquarters in South Mumbai.
While clarifying that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had no involvement in the PMC Bank scam, the finance minister assured the irate depositors of strict action by the Reserve Bank of India.
