All eyes will be on the humble depositor as Yes Bank opened up all banking services to its customers from Wednesday evening even as the private sector lender said its branches will open an hour earlier on Thursday.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had put restrictions on the lender on March 5. Consequently, the bank’s customers were allowed to withdraw up to Rs 50,000. However, with eight financial entities investing a much needed Rs 10,000 crore and the government notifying the Yes Bank Reconstruction Scheme late last Friday, the moratorium was lifted at Yes Bank at 6pm on Wednesday.

Soon after the curbs were lifted, the private sector lender tweeted that all its banking services were operational.

Anticipating a huge rush at its branches from Thursday and also to instil confidence among depositors, Yes Bank said its branches would open one hour earlier at 8:30am from March 19 to March 21, 2020.

“We have also extended banking hours across branches for senior citizens from March 19 to March 27, 2020 to 5.30 pm,’’ the lender said.

Earlier, Yes Bank ran front page advertisements in various newspapers which said that while its services were interrupted and customers were inconvenienced, this was a temporary pause and that it had started a new journey “backed by India’s best”.

The key question now being asked is whether its depositors, including both individuals and state government agencies, will retain their trust in the bank.

IndusInd assurance

Shares of IndusInd Bank crashed almost 24 per cent, or Rs 144.45, to end at Rs 459.85 on Wednesday despite a reassurance from the private sector lender on Tuesday that it was financially strong. Incidentally, this was the second such communication from the lender.

At the current price, the scrip is trading at a third of what it was at the beginning of this calendar year. On January 1, the share had closed at Rs 1484.60 on the BSE.

While the current selloff in the broader market is one of the factors behind the fall, there were concerns in the market regarding it asset quality.

Late on Tuesday, IndusInd Bank said in a statement that it was financially strong, well-capitalised, profitable and a growing entity with strong governance.

The lender added that its promoter group — the Hindujas — have sought approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise their shareholding to 26 per cent.