THE government raised Rs519.36bn from the auction of Market Treasury Bills of various tenors held on Jan 18, smaller against the offered amount of Rs1071.74bn.

Of the total, six month T-bill fetched Rs266.18bn at a cut off yield of 5.93pc, followed by three month T-bill with Rs148.37bn at 5.90pc, and 12 month bill Rs104.80bn at 5.95pc.

The central bank had received total bids worth Rs1071.74bn: 6-month T-bill Rs611.12bn, followed by three month T-bill Rs265.50bn and 12-month T-bill Rs195.12bn.

Key financial indicators of all scheduled banks for the year 2016, show that deposits and other accounts grew (30th Dec against Jan 1) by 15.78pc, total assets 13.63pc, gross advances 13.61pc, borrowings 9.03pc, investments rose by 7.78pc and cash and balances grew by 46.04pc.

Deposits and other accounts of all scheduled banks stood at Rs11.02tr by Dec 30, 2016 against a deposit level of Rs9.67tr on Jan 1, an increase of 15.78pc. Deposits showed a steady rise during the year, and crossed the Rs10tr mark on June 24.

Deposits and other accounts of all commercial banks stood at Rs11.13tr by the end of the outgoing year, against Rs9.63tr on the first day of the year, a rise of 15.60pc. Deposits and other accounts of specialised banks stood at Rs69.02bn, higher by 52.02pc against Rs45.40bn in the corresponding period.

Deposits and other accounts of all scheduled banks showed an increase of 15.78pc

Total assets of all scheduled banks grew by 13.03pc to Rs15.12tr by Dec 30, against Rs13.37tr on Jan 1. Total assets had fallen by 1.79pc in the quarter ended September 30 compared to the figure of Rs14.67tr on July 1.

Total assets of all commercial banks stood at Rs14.86tr by end Dec 2016, an increase of 13.04pc over Rs13.15tr on Jan 01, while assets of specialised banks grew by 12pc during the year, as the figure rose to Rs247.49bn compared to Rs220.98bn on the first day of the year 2016.

Gross advances of all scheduled banks stood at Rs5.57tr on Dec 30, having risen by 13.60pc during the year from a level of Rs4.90tr on Jan 1. Gross advances have shown an erratic trend during the four quarters of the year, declining by the end of the first quarter compared to Jan 1 levels, rising at the end of the second quarter and then again declining on September 30, but then rising to close the year on a higher level.

Meanwhile gross advances of commercial banks rose from Rs4.74tr on Jan 1 to Rs5.40tr by Dec 30, showing a rise of 13.93pc.

Specialised banks advances grew by 3.88pc from a level of Rs159.42bn to Rs165.61bn.

Borrowings by all scheduled banks rose from Rs1.68tr on Jan 1, to Rs2.22tr by July 1, but thereafter declined to Rs1.83tr on Dec 30. It had risen to as high as Rs2.68tr on July 15, and hit a low of Rs1.43tr on Aug 19.

Borrowings by all commercial banks rose from Rs1.65tr on Jan 1 to Rs2.14tr by July 1 and thereafter declined to Rs1.75tr by the end of the year.

Borrowings by specialised banks stood at Rs82.75bn, having risen from Rs32.68bn on Jan 1, more than a one and a half fold increase.

Investment of all scheduled banks rose from Rs6.71tr on Jan 1 to Rs7.23tr on Dec 30, an increase of 7.78pc. It had risen to Rs7.85tr on July 15, but fell thereafter. Commercial banks investment rose from Rs6.68tr on Jan 1 to Rs7.59tr by July 1, then falling by 2.88pc to Rs7.37tr and further to Rs7.23tr by Dec 30.

Published in Dawn, Business & Finance weekly, January 23rd, 2017