Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank was about to go private, sources have told mid-day. Employees said the bank had been working towards this goal for at least three years and had recently applied to RBI for a private banking licence. Turning private would have taken the bank out of the purview of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies and put it under the direct supervision of the Reserve Bank of India.

Already, PMC Bank was among a few cooperative banks that were allowed to deal in foreign exchange and all its big branches had forex facility. The bank would also have been able to give out bigger loans easily, get a pan-India presence and expand overseas. However, financial irregularities came to light and the bank went under administration.