Online banking operations of some private lenders were not working on Tuesday, leading to anxiety among users, The Economic Times reported. Some Twitter users said that they were finding it difficult to log in to the net banking apps of lenders such as Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC First Bank.

A spokesperson for Yes Bank told The Economic Times that all banks are currently facing the problem with their online interfaces.

Meanwhile, shares of major Indian banks declined on Tuesday after fraud allegations against mortgage lender Indiabulls Housing Finance led to fears that lenders had loan exposure to the company and the troubled housing finance sector, Reuters reported.

Stocks of Yes Bank crashed 22%, and the BSE Sensex closed nearly 362 points down at 38,305. Yes Bank’s exposure to the Indiabulls group equals about 22.3% of its net worth.

However, Yes Bank retweeted a tweet from the Reserve Bank of India that said there is nothing to worry.

“There are rumours in some locations about certain banks including cooperative banks, resulting in anxiety among the depositors,” the central bank said. “RBI would like to assure the general public that Indian banking system is safe and stable and there is no need to panic on the basis of such rumours.”

The fears about the real estate and housing finance sector follow the action of the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police last month, when it filed a first information report against officials of Mumbai-based Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank and realty developer HDIL for loan default reportedly up to Rs 4,300 crore. A special investigation team has been formed to conduct inquiries into the case, the police added.

On September 25, the RBI had imposed restrictions on depositors of PMC Bank, saying they will not be allowed to withdraw more than Rs 1,000 from the bank for six months. However, the central bank later increased the withdrawal limit to Rs 10,000.


Now, follow and debate the day’s most significant stories on Scroll Exchange.