KULOB, April 16, 2010, Asia-Plus — The volumes of funds deposited at banks in the Kulob zone, Khatlon province rose 20 percent in the year to April 1, 2010, reaching 17,720,045 U.S. dollars and 4,170,519 somoni, Abdukarim Nematov, the head of the branch of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) in Kulob, announced at a news conference in Kulob on April 16.
“Representatives from branches of six commercial banks operating in the area say local residents are continuing to deposit spare money at banks despite the crisis situation,” Nematov said.
According to him, local residents prefer to deposit foreign currencies at branches of Tojik Sodirot Bonk (TSB) – 7,222,047 U.S. dollars, and Amonatbonk (Tajikistan’s savings bank) – 4,330,953 U.S. dollars.
Nematov noted that 6,777,490 somoni of dilapidated banknotes has been immobilized in the Kulob zone over the first three months of this year, which is 4,481,411 somoni more than in the same period last year.
On the problem of repayment of loans given by the government to local cotton farmers in 2008 and 2009, Nematov said that in 2008 the government gave a 27,482,288 somoni credit to cotton producing farms in the Kulob zone and 86.15 percent of that has been repaid by April 2 this year. “In 2009 the government gave a 24,074,687 somoni credit to local farmers and 60.88 percent of that has been repaid by April 2, 2010,” Nematov said.
