Almost all the four commercial banks in Phuentsholing have completed issuing drafts to the Indian merchants and other non-residents who had deposited their Ngultrum in the Central Bank’s account.
They were asked to deposit the amount by end of March and told that equivalent amount in Rupee would be released to them at a later date. The total deposit in the Bhutanese banks amounted to more than Nu. 300 million.
The commercial banks, as per the Central Bank’s directive, started to release the amounts deposited by the Indian merchants and other non-residents in the form of demand drafts since last month.
Tashi Bank officials said they have completed issuing drafts to all of their 287 registered clients by mid June. It amounted to little over Nu.38 million.
Bhutan National Bank officials also said that most of the drafts have been issued except of those clients with nominal amounts. They are yet to compile a report.
Bank of Bhutan issued 1,220 demand draft issued worth Nu.165 million. Druk PNB issued more than 500 drafts worth over Nu.77 million.
As per the directives of the Central Bank, the Bhutanese banks had kept the demand drafts ready by May.
Among those who came to collect the drafts, most of them were merchants from Jaigaon, a neighboring Indian town of Phuentsholing. A few construction workers based in Bhutan and businessmen from Cooch Bihar and West Bengal were among those who came to claim the drafts.
