IMF's demand to close govt accounts in commercial banks supported.

Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday termed the demand of the IMF to close bank accounts of government departments in commercial banks reasonable.

Different departments and state-run corporations operate thousands of accounts in commercial banks illegally which must be transferred to the central bank as it will end malpractices and save billions of rupees.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that the demand of the IMF should not be seen as a bitter pill but a sweet pill and it should be accepted without delay.

Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that different government bodies have opened more than 5,000 accounts in commercial banks in open violation of laws and directives of the Ministry of Finance, and these accounts hold hundreds of billions of rupees.

There are a number of problems in this practice that need to be addressed without further delay, he said.

He noted that there is competition between commercial banks for government funds, which is prone to corruption.

Commercial banks pay up to 4% interest on their deposits to government institutions and earn up to 10% interest when it lends the same money to the government, causing a loss of billions of rupees to the government.

In addition, the officials of many institutions deposit government funds in personal...