Tirupati temple chairman credits Lord Balaji for saving Rs 1,300 cr deposited in Yes Bank

K.V. Subba Reddy says while examining the books of accounts, he realised the financial status of Yes Bank was not sound, and decided to withdraw the amount.

Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh | Commons

Bengaluru: Call it a stroke of luck or the astuteness of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) authorities, but gold and cash deposits worth Rs 1,300 crore in the name of Lord Balaji were withdrawn from Yes Bank, just months before the Reserve Bank of India placed it under a moratorium.

The Tirupati temple, one of the richest in the country, had several deposits in private banks, the largest being with Yes Bank. Speaking to ThePrint, TTD chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy confirmed that after he took over, while examining the books of accounts, he realised that the financial status of Yes Bank was not sound.

“The credit goes to Lord Balaji who made me understand the bank’s financial position and gave me direction to save the money of the lakhs of devotees whose offerings I am just a custodian of,” Reddy said.

The entire sum of Rs 1,300 crore was withdrawn on 30 October 2019, after a board meeting earlier that month.

TTD’s cash deposits crossed Rs 12,000 crore at the end of the 2018-19 financial year. The income earned from interest on deposits alone has been projected at Rs 706 crore — the second-biggest source of income for the temple apart from the offerings made by the devotees.

‘Investing in private banks not the norm’

Reddy squarely blamed the previous board of the TTD, appointed by the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party, for investing close to Rs 5,000 crore in private banks, which he claimed was not the norm.

“Normally, we put the money in government or nationalised banks. But I was surprised that they had invested in various private banks,” Reddy said.

“We have close to Rs 11,000 crore in the name of Lord Balaji invested in various banks. I told my officials that putting the devotees’ contribution in private banks is ridiculous and that we should withdraw the money immediately. No money should be deposited in private banks, I further instructed them,” Reddy explained.

Reddy said the TTD had invested in several private banks, including Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Federal Bank and South Indian Bank. All the money has now been withdrawn and invested in nationalised banks, he added.

TTD officials claim they merely follow instructions of the board with regard to the choice of banks, or how much money or gold should be deposited.

A senior official of the temple body said on the condition of anonymity that it had earlier deposited donations in private banks as the interest rates were higher than nationalised banks.

However, Reddy said: “I made it clear, just to get a profit of one or two percent more interest, we have no right to put the contributions of the devotees to Lord Balaji at stake.”