Banks yesterday witnessed huge transactions on die last day before the nation goes into six-day Eid hibernation, longest in many years, from today.

Cash drawings from banks were two to three times higher than usual days pushing the inter-bank call money rate to 15 to 16 percent. People queued up in banks to withdraw cash money to meet Eid spending.

Banking sources said there were few last moment inter-bank deals which skyrocketed to as high as 20 percent.

Heavy rush of customers forced banks to keep counters open beyond normal office hours. People were also seen flocking to ATM and Q-cash booths to withdraw cash. The bank officials had hard time to cope with heavy pressure of clients.

Many bank clients had to wait in queue for hours before getting their turn for drawing cash.

Some branches were forced to open additional payment counters and deploy more officers as cashiers to face the onrush of clients. Bank managers said people yesterday were simply drawing, hardly making ‘any deposits.

Talking to The Daily Star, an official of Janata Bank local office in Dilkusha said they usually close at 2:00pm but yesterday they were forced to keep branch open well beyond that.

"At 3:00pm we called the day off but were forced to keep counters open as more and more people were lining up with cheques," the official said.

He said cash withdrawal was three times higher than usual.

Sonali, Janata Bank to operate some branches on Saturday Although there will be no banking transactions during the next six days, state-run Sonali and Janata Bank have decided to keep branches open in important places for some time during Eid vacation.

Bangladesh Bank has instructed Sonali and Janata Bank to keep their branches open in customs houses in Dhaka, Chittagong and Benapole land port, export processing zones (EPZs) and inland container terminal in Kamalapur during the six-day vacation except on Eid day and the day after.

Managing Director of Janata Bank SM Aminur Rahman said transactions usually go up to the peak at the last banking day before Eid. "There was huge demand of cash money. So, call money rate of 15 percent is not unusual."

"We have received instructions from Bangladesh Bank (BB) to keep some branches open during Eid time. The staffs who will work during this vacation will get special allowances," he told this correspondent

Managing Director of Pubali Bank Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled said customers and exporters will not face problems due to the six-day closure of banks as people are likely to have withdrawn sufficient cash and exporters have opened L/Cs beforehand.

"The only people who will suffer from bank closure are shop-owners who will not get chance to deposit their sale proceeds. We have not received any instructions from the central bank to open branches for some time during Eid holidays," he said yesterday.

Sources said call money rate usually hovers around 4-5 percent. The rate was 6-7 percent onTUesday. But it suddenly Jacked up to 16 percent yesterday as new banks faced liquidity crisis amid pressure of voluminous cash withdrawals. Moreover, Bangladesh Bank has drawn Tk 442 crore from the banking sector through treasury bill auction held yesterday. The commercial banks, however, recovered from the cash crisis by availing Tk 380 crore through repurchase agreement of the central bank.

Businesses decry six-day vacation Meanwhile, businesspersons reacted sharply to government decision to close banks for six days during the Eid saying that exporters and importers will suffer due to the longclosure.

Annisul Huq, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA), said although six-day Eid vacation will not affect the export -import process significantly, the weeklong vacation will create problems in documentation process.

"Moreover, most of the factoryowners decided to pay salary to their staffs and workers on Saturday. Now, the owners may not be able to pay salary as there will be no transactions in the banks on Saturday," the BGMEA leader said.

Md Fazlul Hoque, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said, "Definitely the six-day vacation will affect the general business as well as export-oriented business."

"I cannot remember that I saw any six-day Eid vacation in my life," he said adding, "We on Tuesday wrote to the Bangladesh Bank Governor and Commerce Secretary to keep the banks open on Saturday."

Our Chittagong correspondent adds: Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCC1) urged the government to keep some branches of commercial banks open through special arrangements on Saturday to ensure uninterrupted business activities ahead of Eid.

In a Fax message to the finance minister, CCCI President Amir Humayun Mahmud Chowdhury yesterday said the government has announced a six-day holiday from today, but all sorts of business activities are likely to continue in full swing until Sunday.

With the banks remaining closed and financial transaction of the shoppers and sellers continued, the

businessmen would be forced to keep all the cash money either in their respective business firms or at homes, which might endanger their safety, the message said.

At the backdrop of deteriorating law and order keeping cash money at any place other than banks would be risky posing a threat to the public

safety as well, the chamber president pointed out

The shop-owners are in fear, as they cannot deposit their cash from sale from today. "We hoped that the banks will remain open until Saturday. But the government declared a six-day Eid vacation and we are fearing with our cash money,"

said Amir Hossain Khan, president of Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity (shop owners' association).

He estimated that Eid shopping will reach the tune of Tk 3,000 crore during last three days before Eid in the country. Where will die shopowners put the cash amount? he posed the question.