In what would be a big relief to account holder of the troubled Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank, Reserve Bank of India today increased the withdrawal limit from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000.

As per reports, the Bank’s Managing Director Joy Thomas has been suspended.

“Other terms and conditions of the said Directive shall remain unchanged. With the above relaxation, more than 60% of the depositors of the Bank will be able to withdraw their entire account balance,” RBI said in a statement.

“The above relaxation has been granted with a view to reducing the hardship of the depositors. The Reserve Bank is closely monitoring the position and shall continue to take further steps as are necessary to safeguard the interest of the depositors of the bank,” RBI said.

Customers were shocked on September 24, when a message from the bank revealed that it has been put under directions by RBI for six months.

A direction from RBI means that the bank’s operations are practically taken over by the Central Bank, with PMC’s management superseded and the board dissolved.

It is said that the regulator found irregularities in its lending, the under-reporting of its non-performing assets or higher than permitted exposure to same group accounts, which could have led RBI to take the step. An inspection is currently underway.

The PMC Bank was founded in 1984 in a small room in Mumbai, the banks have a network of 137 branches in six states and ranks among the top 10 cooperative banks in the country. The bank has branches in Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.

Several account holders of the Bank filed a joint police complaint against the bank’s chairman and its directors for alleged misappropriation of funds of the customers.

(With input from agencies)