Paytm Payments Bank stares at RBI administrator as March 15 deadline nears

Paytm Payments Bank, which is facing the risk of losing its licence after March 15, could see an RBI-appointed administrator stepping in to manage unclaimed deposits and oversee certain critical aspects.

If that happens, it could be the first significant instance in over two decades where the RBI may take such a drastic step, the Hindu Businessline has reported. 

BT could not independently verify the report. 

The role of the administrator, the report says, would be to ensure that any deposit claims made thereafter is satisfactory repaid to the depositors.

The Financial Intelligence Unit had slapped a penalty of Rs 5.49 crore on the bank for violating anti-money laundering law. 

Earlier this week, Vijay Shekhar Sharma stepped down as part-time non-executive Chairman of PPBL and the board of the bank was reconstituted. 

A Paytm Payments Bank spokesperson said the penalty pertains to issues within a business segment that was discontinued two years ago. "Following that period, we have enhanced our monitoring systems and reporting mechanisms to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)," the spokesperson added.