Tirumala Temple Withdrew Rs 1,300 Cr From Yes Bank in Oct 2019

The deposits were withdrawn as they had matured and the Board decided to invest the money elsewhere.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) withdrew the deposits in October 2019.

(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

A decision by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) to withdraw its deposits in Yes Bank a few months ago, has paid off for the Trust Board which governs the Sri Venkateswara Temple atop Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, one of the richest Hindu temples in the world.

According to an official with the TTD, deposits to the tune of Rs 1,300 crore were withdrawn some months ago from Yes Bank.

“It was around October last year. As part of a regular exercise, deposits of various banks were monitored and as some deposits had matured, including that of Yes Bank, the TTD Trust Board held a meeting and decided to withdraw the money and invest it elsewhere.”

TTD official told TNM

On Thursday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) superseded the Yes Bank Board for 30 days and appointed an administrator, putting a cap of Rs 50,000 on withdrawal by account holders for a month. The RBI said that it took the decision "owing to serious deterioration in the financial position of the Bank".

With the latest news, many took to social media to praise the 'foresight' of the TTD and its Chairman YV Subba Reddy.

Andhra Pradesh Government Advisor, S Rajiv Krishna also tweeted about the issue, stating, “Demise of Yes Bank is sad since it has eroded so much of the hard earned money for millions. Due to the foresight and will of TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy, TTD withdrew its deposits once things started to go bad, despite pressure from the bank.”

Meanwhile, RBI Governor Shakti Kanta Das on Friday told reporters in Mumbai that they would soon come out with a scheme to revive the capital-starved Yes Bank.

“We took the step (of putting it under moratorium) when we found that Yes Bank efforts were not working. Depositors’ interests will be fully protected.”

Shaktikanta Das

The financial position of Yes Bank had been dwindling over the past year or two plagued by bad loans and mounting NPAs. Its stock also crashed in 2019. And with the bank failing to find an investor, its financial position was declining, especially with outflow of liquidity and account holders withdrawing their deposits. This was leading to further losses mounting for the bank.

(This story was first published by The News Minute and has been republished here with permission.)