In mid-1969 the State Bank was severely criticized for poor performance, particularly its failure to exercise adequate control over unauthorized use of funds and waste of materials by the enterprises it helped to finance. The bank's failure was largely precipitated by uncertainties created through a decentralization of economic authority, decreed by the Party, and a dilution of the bank's control function. A specialized system of state savings and securities banks was established within the Ministry of Finance in November 1968, for the purpose of mobilizing the population's savings for investment through loans to the state and the sale of its securities. The text of the law that created this institution contained no provision concerning the relation of these new savings and securities banks to the State Bank. Further information on the new banks was not available in mid-1970. The only available information on the State Bank's financial operations consists of partial data on loans to agriculture and for housing and on the number and amount of savings deposits. The total volume of farm credits, exclusive of credits to state farms for which statistics have not been published, increased from 95 million leks in 1960 to 252 million leks in 1964, including long-term loans of 38 million and 44 million leks, respectively. By 1967 long-term loans had increased to 56 million leks. The statistics do not indicate whether the published data refer to the annual volume of loans granted or to the total amount of outstanding loans. A small fraction of the loans after 1960 was granted to individual peasants for the purchase of livestock. Loans for housing construction and repair declined drastically from 17 million leks in 1960 to only 7 million leks in 1964. The distribution of the loans between urban and rural areas fluctuated widely, but urban loans predominated by a large margin and constituted from 69 to 93 percent of the total. The number of savings accounts increased from 235,400 in 1960 to 445,000 in 1968, and the volume of deposits rose from 119 million to 247 million leks. Interest paid on these amounts totaled 3.6 million and 4.8 million leks in the respective years, which implies a reduction of the interest rate from about 3.0 to 2.5 percent. FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS Foreign Aid