The Domino Effect of Fraud

Satish Marathe is director at Reserve Bank of India, founder and patron of Sahakar Bharti and former CEO of two banks. He shares insights about the banking fraud scenario and recommends solutions:

Manoj Agrawal: What is your understanding and analysis of the PMC Bank case?

Satish Marathe: When I first read about it, I was shocked to the core, because I had always considered PMC Bank as one of the best urban cooperative banks in the country. Personally, I had very high regards for the bank and I held the MD Joy Thomas in very high esteem. Had there been no whistle-blower, things could have continued for some more time, maybe some more years. How could this continue for such a long time? As far as depositors are concerned, this is nothing short of cheating. Criminal proceedings should start against all those who were involved. Stringent action should be initiated as it is not just a question of what happens to the bank, but we have to set an example that we will not tolerate. We also have to revisit the system, because based on disclosed data, people have started hesitating in placing deposits in various banks. The amount involved is so large that I don’t think the bank can be revived.

Have you dealt with anything similar before?

I was personally and very intimately involved in the revival of Madhavpura Bank. I was the first person who took the initiative and we at Sahakar Bharti had appointed a committee under the chairmanship of veteran chartered accountant Chitale to work out a rehabilitation package for the bank. We got the support of the central government particularly, ministers Lal Krishna Advani and Yashwant Sinha, the latter who was then finance minister, as this was going to affect around 150 smaller banks that had deposits in Madhavpura Bank. Our proposal was accepted and over a period of time, the negative impact of Madhavpura Bank did not lead to the failure of other banks. It was a clear case of fraud as there were no actual securities versus the claims. We discussed and worked out a package with various banks, DICGC and others.