Banks deny rumour of cash withdrawal suspension

by Nem Davies

Wednesday, 10 December 2008 22:48

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Officials of two private banks - Kanbawza and Yoma – on Wednesday vigourously denied rumours suggesting suspension of cash withdrawal from their banks. The denial came after rumours spread among account holders that the banks had suspended withdrawal of cash. "There's no problem at our banks. We are conducting remittance business. We can pay even up to Kyat 100 million immediately if the same amount is remitted," a bank official at the head office of the 'Yoma Bank Ltd.' told Mizzima. Similarly, an official at the 'Kanbawza Bank Ltd.' on Pyi Road in Rangoon said the bank is conducting normal business and is making payments to all the clients. "We are making payments normally. We haven't yet received any complaints," he said. A businesswoman in Rangoon who deals with both banks said while she had heard rumours circulating, she did not have any problem in withdrawing money or with transactions in the banks. "I am a regular customer of both banks and have not yet had any problems with them. I can withdraw money without any limit imposed for my business. I've been dealing with Yoma bank since its inception," she said. However, an official from the 'Kanbawza Bank' said that they have limited to Kyat 3 million the maximum amount that can be deposited in a day by a customer and allow customers to withdraw only once a week. The official said the new regulations were instructions given to them by Burma's Central Bank. "This is Central Bank's instruction but we don't know the reason behind it. The instruction was issued about a month ago. We have to comply with the instruction," he said. But a regular customer of Kanbawza Bank told Mizzima that old clients are permitted to withdraw money from the bank without limit, while new clients are restricted from withdrawing only up to Kyat 1 million a week. < Prev   Next >