Synopsis If successful, an acquisition will boost BharatPe’s lending business. It aims to build a Rs 5,000-crore loan book in two years (This story originally appeared in on Dec 21, 2020)Merchant payments startup BharatPe and financial services firm Centrum Group have submitted a joint expression of interest (EoI) to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to take over scam-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank, a source aware of the matter said. Centrum Group is co-promoted by Jaspal Bindra, a former Standard Chartered honcho. BharatPe and Centrum will hold equal stakes in the venture. Sources added Ludhiana-born British businessman Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty House Group has also submitted an EoI to the RBI. The central bank has got four EoIs for PMC Bank. The identities of the other two contenders are not known yet. On Friday, the RBI extended the restrictions on PMC bank till March 2021, by when it is expected to study the proposals of the suitors.