BENGALURU: Efforts are underway to rescue four Maharashtra-based PM4C banks in dire financial straits. Interest has been expressed by the payment startup company Bharat Pay and the financial services provider Centrum Group. The two organizations have jointly applied to the Reserve Bank of India. Born in Luthiana and set up a large business empire in the UK, Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Group is also in the running to buy PMG Bank. The Reserve Bank has received four applications for PM4C Bank. The identities of the other two applicants are not known. Last Friday, the Reserve Bank of India extended the ban on PM4C banks by March 2021. Digital India will be the first bank to run the PM4C bank if India manages to buy it. The application for PM4C Bank stipulates that the investor will run it as a small finance bank. If Liberty Group succeeds in acquiring PM4C Bank, PM4C Bank will be recognized as the first bank to be managed by a corporate entity. An internal committee of the Reserve Bank of India recently recommended that the corporation be allowed to become a bank owner. There is a lot of debate about that. A final decision has not yet been made.
