The nearly 240 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) currency chests, which supply notes to the thousands of banks across Kerala, have gone almost dry, banking sources have said.
Each of these chests, which, before the demonetisation on November 8, used to hold anything between ₹100 crore and ₹500 crore each, now on an average contains ₹5 crore in cash.
This has put huge pressure on the banking system and caused much hardship to the people. Banking sources point out that usually the demand for cash is at its peak between end-March and mid-April, mainly because of government-related transactions associated with the ending of the financial year.
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ATMs too dry up
They say that the cash situation has been bleak since mid-March and at present it is grave. Most ATMs have already gone dry as the banks have been informally told not to refill them in view of the trickling down of cash from the RBI. Bankers say that their demand for cash is met with a cold ‘no cash’ response from the RBI.
They said that the crunch caused by the demonetisation had eased by end of January as supplies from the RBI improved. But, the current shortage is threatening to be worse than that of the immediate post-demonetisation period, during which time the ATMs used to deliver at least ₹2,000 to a substantial number of customers. After the curbs on ATM withdrawal limit were withdrawn, the banks are finding it hard to refill the ATMs. Since ATMs do not deliver, the customers rush to the bank branches for over-the-counter withdrawal.
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Mostly with SBI
Of the 240 RBI cash chests, which are maintained by public sector banks and a couple of mainline private banks, roughly two-thirds are with the SBI. The SBI, which now has close to 1,400 branches in the State, has to take care of the cash needs of government treasuries and post offices too.
Bankers fear that the cash crunch might worsen next week when two major festivals, Vishu and Easter, are celebrated in the State.