Banks ignore RBI 25p coin directive

RANCHI: Gautam, a teenager flaunting more than 1,134 coins of 25 paise in his piggy bank collection, suddenly turned pauper on Wednesday evening as his repeated efforts to convert the coins into currency notes proved futile. Reason most of the banks in Ranchi flouted the Reserve Bank of India's directive. On February 1, the apex bank had instructed the nationalized and private banks to arrange for exchange of coins of 25 paise denomination and below at their branches. The circular said people could exchange small denomination coins at any branch of these banks along with all Issue Offices of the RBI. "Coins of denomination of 25 paise and below will not be accepted for exchange at the bank branches from July 1, 2011 onwards," the circular available on the RBI website read. The apex bank said, "It may be recalled that in exercise of powers conferred by Section 15A of the Coinage Act, 1906 (3 of 1906), the Government of India has decided to withdraw the coins of denomination of 25 paise and below from circulation with effect from June 30, 2011. From this date, these coins shall cease to be legal tender for payment as well as on account."  But on Wednesday, the last day of exchange of coins, many teenagers who had developed a hobby for coin collection over the years suffered the same fate like Gautam. Even as the RBI issue office at Patna is learnt to have exchanged coins of 25 paise and below denomination worth Rs 10,750 in Bihar and Jharkhand circle, most of the nationalized banks in Ranchi expressed ignorance about the RBI directive, indicating that the exchanges took place in Bihar but not in Jharkhand.  State level bankers' committee convener in Jharkhand, Allahabad Bank, had no idea about the directive issued by the RBI to exchange coins. General Manager of the bank D Chakravorty said he had not received any communication in this regard. "I have no idea about exchange of coins," he said. Similar was the response of assistant general manager of the SBI's Hatia branch Ajay Kumar. In the absence of any RBI issue office in the state, SBI serves as the issue branch in Jharkhand. Kumar said the bank received no communication from the RBI about exchanging coins. His response was once again ecohed by the chief manager Ranchi branch of the SBI. The Issue department of the RBI, however, refuted the banks' allegations saying the circular was not only uploaded on the apex bank's website but a separate communication was also sent to every nationalized bank directing them to collect coins from customers and send them to the RBI issue office for final exchange.  Deputy General Manager of the RBI's Issue Department P Sahi told TOI over the phone that the department received some complains a fortnight back and it was resolved. "We are ready to receive specific complaints if some customer has been returned by the bank on grounds of not having instruction."  Sahi said 10 banks in Jharkhand namely SBI, UBI, Union Bank, UCO Bank, ICICI, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of India, Canara Bank, PNB and Allahabad Bank had small coin depots. "All these banks were supposed to receive the coins of denomination 25 paise and below and get it reimbursed from the RBI later," he said. Praveen Ranjan, the AGM at the RBI (Ranchi), asked the customers to lodge complaint against the banks that refused to exchange coins. "Though the last date of (taking coins) June 29 has expired, but in case of violation of our directive we must take up the issue at higher level," he said.

TOI