DESPITE the drop in interest rates, banks continued to display their preference for government debt securities when they enthusiastically participated in the auction of Pakistan Investment Bonds last Wednesday.

However, the central bank dampened their spirits a little bit when it accepted only Rs34.925bn out of Rs152.198bn worth of bids that were submitted during the auction.

Of the total, three-year PIBs fetched the government Rs28.072bn at a cut-off yield of 7.8502pc, followed by five-year PIBs with Rs4.194bn at 8.4219pc and 10-year PIBs with Rs3.831bn at 9.3402pc.

The SBP continued its liquidity injections, pumping in Rs975bn into the banking system on Friday through an open market operation

Of the total bids received by the State Bank, three-year PIBs had attracted the highest amount of Rs78.023bn, followed by five-year PIBs with Rs53.056bn and 10-year PIBs with Rs21.12bn. No bids were received for 20-year PIBs.

On the other hand, the SBP continued its liquidity injections last week, pumping in Rs975bn into the banking system on Friday through an open market operation in the 10-day contract.

According to the statement of position of all scheduled banks for the week ending April 10, cash and balances with treasury banks of all scheduled banks fell 3.35pc to Rs679.99bn, against the earlier week’s level of Rs703.59bn.

Cash and balances with treasury banks of all commercial banks stood at Rs677.8bn in the week, against the preceding week’s figure of Rs700bn, down 3.17pc. Cash and balances with treasury banks of all specialised banks stood at Rs2.193bn in the week, against the preceding week’s Rs3.588bn.

Investments of all scheduled banks stood at Rs5,808.68bn in the week under review, against the preceding week’s figure of Rs5,800.34bn, up 0.14pc. Investments of all commercial banks stood at Rs5,779.52bn in the week, also up 0.14pc against the preceding week’s Rs5,771.55bn. Investments of all specialised banks stood at Rs29.164bn in the week, against the preceding week’s figure of Rs28.788bn.

Gross advances by scheduled banks stood at Rs4,438.493bn in the week ending April 10, showing an increase of 0.15pc over the preceding week’s figure of Rs4,431.081bn.

Advances by commercial banks rose 0.16pc to Rs4,291.914bn in the week, against the previous week’s Rs4,285.082bn. Advances by specialised banks stood at Rs146.58bn in the week.

Total assets of all scheduled banks stood at Rs11,959.427bn in the week under review, lower by 0.02pc over the preceding week’s figure of Rs11,961.784bn.

Total assets of all commercial banks stood at Rs11,772bn in the week, down 0.02pc over the previous week’s figure of Rs11,774bn. Total assets of all specialised banks stood at Rs187.427bn in the week, over the previous week’s Rs181.768bn.

Deposits and other accounts of all scheduled banks rose 0.3pc to Rs8,582bn in the week ending April 10, against the preceding week’s figure of Rs8,556.854bn.

Deposits and other accounts of all commercial banks also increased 0.3pc to Rs8,560.317bn, against the earlier week’s level of Rs8,535.236bn. Deposits and other accounts of all specialised banks stood at Rs21.682bn in the week.

Borrowings by all scheduled banks decreased by 2.32pc in the week under review to Rs1,434.895bn, against the previous week’s figure of Rs1,469.059bn.

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, April 27th, 2015

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