Question 6
- State five services a commercial bank render to customers.
- List five duties of a customs authority.
Observation
Most candidates could not differentiate between services of commercial banks and that of central bank. As such they stated the services of central bank for 6(a).
For question 6(b) some candidates listed the duties of the ports authority for that of customs authority.
The expected responses to the question include:
(a) Services rendered by Commercial Banks to Customers:
- Acceptance of deposit: commercial banks accept deposits from customers for safe-custody. i.e savings, current and deposits accounts.
- Safe keeping of Valuables: commercial banks keep valuable goods like gold, jewellery, wills, deeds etc on behalf of customers.
- Commercial banks lend money to customers on long and short term basis.
- Agents of payments: it acts as agents of payment for customers. Commercial banks accept and honour cheques drawn on them.
- Issuance of Travellers cheques: commercial banks issue travellers cheques to customers who are travelling outside the country.
- Advise to customers: commercial banks give advice to customers on matters that affect their businesses.
- Solving problem of foreign Exchange: commercial banks help their customers to get foreign exchange
- They Act as Referee: commercial banks act as referees for their customers when their business partners are in doubt about their financial credibility.
- Discounting Bills of Exchange: commercial banks discount bills of exchange that is, they pay cash for bills of exchange before the bills mature.
- Commercial Banks issue bank statements to customers at regular intervals.
(b) Duties of a Customs Authority
- A Customs Authority collects taxes in terms of imports, exports and excise duties on behalf of government.
- A Customs Authority enforces import and export restriction and prohibition by government.
- A Customs Authority supervises bonded warehouse where goods whose duties have not been paid are kept.
- A Customs Authority collects data for the compilation of a country’s international trade statistics which gives a picture of a country’s balance of trade and payments.
- Provision of quarantine facilities – it provides appropriate quarantine facilities for importation of live stocks.
- Completion of documents – the Customs ensure that custom declaration forms and other documents are completed.
- Issuance of Clearance Certificates – it issues clearance certificates for goods whose duties have been paid.