Larger than usual crowds gathered to withdraw funds from Afghanistan''s largest bank Thursday, but there was little sign that questions surrounding its viability had sparked a major panic. After the bank''s two top executives resigned amid allegations of mismanagement and unorthodox real estate loans, nervous customers flocked to the bank on Wednesday to withdraw their money.
But on Thursday, the crowd at Kabul Bank''s main branch in the center of the Afghan capital was only somewhat larger than usual. Afghan television stations broadcast remarks Wednesday night from the central bank governor, Abdul Qadir Fitrat, who insisted that Kabul Bank was solvent and had enough liquidity to meet demands.
On Thursday, the Afghanistan Banks Association issued a statement of support for the bank, and Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal sought to reassure customers that their deposits were safe. "We are 100 percent sure that Kabul Bank is safe,'''' Zakhilwal said. ``I, as finance minister, am giving you my guarantee that your money is safe if it''s one Afghani, one dollar, one euro, up to millions. ... Kabul Bank is not in danger.
``The government of Afghanistan guarantees that every penny that they have deposited will be paid back to them if they request it,'''' he said. ``But what we are requesting of the Afghan people is not to rush because rush is not good for them, and it''s not good for the banking system. We guarantee the money.'''' Some customers went anyway. Nazifa Amiri, who works for a foreign aid agency in Kabul, said problems with the bank would have an especially devastating effect on poor Afghans like herself.
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