THE STATS
Total depositors 56,635
Total deposits Rs 189.81 cr
Liquid cash available with bank Rs 122.32 cr
MARGAO
Two years after the government-appointed liquidator had set in motion the process to liquidate the Madgaum Urban Co-operative Bank, the miniscule one per cent of the beleaguered depositors may have a question or two to ask the liquidator “ How much more time will the liquidator require to return back their deposits amounting to whopping Rs 40-odd crore?
This question should certainly come to haunt the government-appointed liquidator as the office of Liquidator is believed to have settled the claims of the 10,000-odd depositors amounting to around Rs 120 crore, whose deposits came within the Rs 5 lakh bracket.
If officials are to be believed, the one per cent of depositors, roughly works out around 500 depositors, having total deposits amounting to over Rs 40-odd crore with the bank, throwing up a moot question “ when this category of depositors, whose deposits exceeds the Rs 5 lakh ceiling will receive their deposits?
When this question was posed to the Liquidator-appointed designated officer Kishore Amonkar to shed light on the time frame set for the return of balance deposits of the depositors, he was categorical in saying that it all depends on the availability of funds with the liquidator.
Amonkar was categorical in saying that this section of the depositors, whose deposits exceed the Rs 5 lakh ceiling, will get their deposits returned as and when the assets of the banks and the office effects recovery of the outstanding recoveries.
“As per the rules in force, the liquidator has settled the claims of the depositors whose deposits fall below the Rs 5 lakh ceiling. The Bank has already cleared around 10,000-odd depositors, amounting to around Rs 120 crore, whose deposits were up to the limit of Rs 5 lakh,” he said.
He added: “As far as the remaining depositors are concerned, whose deposits exceed the Rs 5 lakh ceiling and whose overall deposits amount to over Rs 40 crore, their claims will be settled depending on the availability of funds.”
Asked whether the MUCB will be in a position to settle all the claims made by the beleaguered depositors, Amonkar replied in the positive. He, however, hastened to add that the claims will be settled dependent on the availability of funds. “The MUCB has assets running into crores of rupees. The bank has premises in Panaji, Margao, Benaulim and other areas. The problem lies in the fact that efforts to auction of the properties have not received encouraging response till date,” he added.
The government-appointed liquidator had officially set in motion the process for the liquidation of the Madgaum Urban Cooperative Bank (MUCB), when the liquidator on August 31, 2021 had called upon all the 56,635 depositors, having claims against the Bank to submit their claims on depositors claims form within two months.
The MUCB has also requested all the locker holders to arrange for surrender of lockers and take custody of their valuables on or before September 30.
Majority of depositors yet to claim their deposits
Where have all the depositors gone, is a question that is doing the rounds in banking circles with majority of the depositors yet to lay their claim on their deposits.
If officials are to be believed, the MUCB had around 56,635 depositors, of which around 10,000-odd depositors have submitted their claims to the liquidator for return of their deposits.
Why all the depositors have not laid their claim on the deposits despite the liquidator issuing deadlines to file their applications has baffled the bank officials, throwing up the question whether some of the depositors had multiple small deposits or whether some of these depositors are holed up abroad.
“We do not know whether these depositors are employed abroad and have not laid their claims since the deposits are negligible,” an officer said.
