Taliban official assures safety of Afghans' bank deposits

KABUL, Sept 16  -- The acting governor of Da Afghanistan Bank, the country's central bank, has assured the safety of Afghans' deposits in commercial banks, the bank confirmed in a statement on Thursday.

"Da Afghanistan Bank assures our countrymen that all commercial banks operating in the country are under serious supervision and are conducting their operations better than before. The banks are completely secure," Xinhua news agency reported governor Mohammad Idrees said in the statement.

All commercial banks in the region and the world usually keep 10 percent of their capital as cash and use the remainder in various commercial activities and provide useful services to their people, the statement said.

"Commercial banks in Afghanistan, on average, keep 50 percent of the Afghani and foreign currency with them. Therefore, the banking sector is in a good condition. These banks have invested a certain amount of money inside the country and abroad to play a useful role in the economic growth of Afghanistan," the governor said.

The statement came as thousands of customers had waited in long lines to withdraw their savings since the Taliban's takeover in mid-August.

Reports of freezing Afghanistan's bank assets by the United States as well as a halt of funds by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have fueled concerns among Afghans.

On Aug 28, the DBA issued an order to all banks in the Central Asian country, setting a temporary limit of withdrawals of US$200 or 20,000 afghani for one customer every week. 

-- BERNAMA