The Reserve Bank of India on Monday said its decision to impose a three-month moratorium on GTB was to safeguard the 'interests of the depositors' even as market regulator SEBI assured close monitoring of the bank's scrip to prevent manipulation.

"Whatever action has been initiated is for the protection of the depositors' interest," RBI Executive Director Usha Thorat said.

Proposal of the scheme of merger was already under discussion before the moratorium was slapped, she said.

• The GTB Crisis: Complete Coverage

Asked about the concerns over the working of other private banks, she said there is a regulatory mechanism of the RBI to monitor them and a rigorous supervisory process to ensure that prudential norms are maintained.

SEBI General Manager S Ravindran said the moratorium is a corporate development and the market would react to it, but the regulator would closely monitor the bank scrip to prevent any manipulation.

He said the bank was a clearing agent for the Bombay Stock Exchange only and the number of brokers who had pledged payment through the bank was few and the amount insignificant.

"It is only around Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) and the brokers would have to make alternative arrangements for the payments," Ravindran said.