The Reserve Bank of India, or RBI, on Tuesday imposed a Rs 1,000 withdrawal cap on customers of Mumbai-based Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank for six months.

“Depositors will be allowed to withdraw a sum not exceeding Rs 1,000 of the total balance in every savings bank account or current account or any other deposit account by whatever name called, subject to conditions stipulated in the RBI Directions,” the central bank said.

The RBI has also restricted the cooperative bank from issuing advances or loans to its customers. “Without the prior approval in writing from the Reserve Bank, the bank will also not be able to grant or renew any loans and advances, make any investment, incur any liability including borrowal of funds and acceptance of fresh deposits, disburse or agree to disburse any payment whether in discharge of its liabilities and obligations or otherwise, enter into any compromise or arrangement and sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any of its properties or assets except as notified in the RBI directions dated September 23, 2019,” it added.

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The RBI said the directions did not mean that the cooperative bank’s licence had been cancelled. The PMC Bank can continue to conduct banking business with restrictions till further instructions from the central bank.

Following the RBI’s decision, account holders protested outside bank’s main branch in Mumbai’s Bhandup area and various other branches, NDTV reported. “As the managing director of the bank, I take full responsibility and assure all the depositors that these irregularities will be rectified before the expiry of six months,” Joy Thomas told the bank’s customers.

The bank, founded in 1984, operates in Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. It now has 137 branches in six states, and is among the top 10 cooperative banks in the country, according to Mint.

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