KARACHI, April 15: Currency notes of Rs50 and Rs100 denominations have again started disappearing mysteriously causing an acute short supply on bank counters and in the ATMs.
Angry bankers — senior cashiers — of the five top banks were advised on Tuesday by the State Bank of Pakistan to wait till next June. The Central Bank’s explanation for the shortage of Rs50 and Rs100 denomination notes was that it was not getting adequate supply from the printing corporation.
All the banks in the city had faced the acute shortage of Rs50 and Rs100 notes in November and December 2002 when reports suggested that these denomination notes in millions were being transported to Kabul everyday. In return, a large quantity of US dollars were coming in Pakistan from Afghanistan.
Since this two way flow of currency notes was not found to be a bad deal, the central bank and the government preferred to maintain a discreet silence. But the State Bank of Pakistan was reported to have assured the bankers in December that in the year 2003 printing indent order, it will take care of the currency note requirements in Afghanistan.
Bankers say that they are neither getting required quantity of Rs50 and Rs100 currency notes bundles from the State Bank nor their clients are giving them back these notes on the counters. Shortage of these notes have also affected quite a few of the ATM services of the banks where clients are not able to get these currency notes.
National Bank of Pakistan with 90 branches in the city is reported to have asked for 300 bundles of Rs100 notes and equal number of bundles of Rs50 notes from the State Bank for March. The NBP is reported to have been given only 100 bundles of Rs100 notes and 200 bundles of Rs50 notes.
At the same time, the NBP branches are also not getting Rs 100 and Rs 50 notes from their clients in their normal banking collections on the counters. Hence, the NBP is not in a position to meet all the demands from all its branches in the city.
The NBP gives priority consideration in matter of supplying Rs100 and Rs50 notes to its branches which serve the armed forces and rangers for disbursement of salaries. Dockyard, Korangi Creek and many other NBP branches which serve armed services are provided with relatively more bundles of Rs100 and Rs50 notes.
All other banks in the city and money changers also complain of not getting Rs100 and Rs50 notes adequately. “I could not get Rs100 and Rs50 notes for my personal use in home a well known and established money changer informed Dawn by telephone on Tuesday.
Reports of short supply of these notes have led the footpath currency operators to push up premium on a new 100 currency notes bundle of Rs100 to Rs250. Previously the normal premium charged was Rs100 for hundred notes of Rs100. You paid Rs10,100 for a bundle. Now you pay Rs10,200 to Rs10,250 for same bundle. Premium on Rs50 notes also went up. Obviously, the currency operators get these new crispy notes from those holding responsible positions in the central bank.
These new crispy currency notes are in demand during marriages. The bridegroom is offered a garland of Rs100 or Rs50 currency notes by his friends and in-laws. Bankers, however, say that the demand for these currency notes in marriages is not in such a quantity that it could cause an unusual shortage.
“Now that special paper for printing currency notes has been imported, the State Bank will start getting supply according to its indent order from next month and meet the requirement of the banks,” a senior cashier holding an executive position in a nationalized commercial bank quoted an official of the State Bank of Pakistan’s Banking Services Corporation’s officer who chaired the meeting of the senior cashiers of the banks on Tuesday afternoon.
But bankers are not ready to buy Central Bank’s explanation on the shortage of currency notes. “Why is there shortage of Rs100 and Rs50 currency notes only,” a senior banker asked. He said that State Bank was providing banks with all the requirements of the banks from denominations of Rs1,000 and Rs500.
The sources in the State Bank disclosed that it is about to begin destroying and de-circulating all the soiled notes and is asking the banks to send bundles of such notes of all denominations. This has led to another tiff between the banks and the central bank.
The central bank is not ready to accept de-faced and mutilated currency notes from the banks as legal tenders. Till this day no solution has been found.
