September 1, 2003	Monday	Rajab 3, 1424

DHAKA, Aug 31: The government of Bangladesh announced on Saturday the virtual end to the state-owned banks’ monopoly over the deposit of state corporate and development funds and utility bills, major Dhaka-based dailies reported on Sunday.

According to reports, the government announced a package of incentives for private commercial banks (PCBs) to help their liquidity position and widen their lending for development of real sectors, with special emphasis on agriculture.

Finance and Planning Minister M. Saifur Rahman at a meeting with the managing directors of all the banks, said that the PCBs would now get 20 per cent of the deposit of the annual development programme (ADP), with the nationalised commercial banks (NCBs) retaining the rest.

Also, the government would deposit up to 25 per cent funds of different state corporations with the PCBs in service for over 10 years and 20 per cent with those running for at least five years.

At the same time, the PCBs would be able to receive the bills paid by customers of various utility services and keep the money for five to six days without interest.