Govt raises Rs1.74tr.

KARACHI -- The government on Wednesday raised Rs1,742 billion which was more than double the auction target of market treasury bills.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported that the government target for the auction was Rs800bn. A total of Rs2,370bn bids were received reflecting that the banks were eagerly willing to park their liquidity in risk-free government papers.

Banking experts said the risk of lending increases with the rise in the interest rate. Banks ask for higher than the...