Financial sector reforms and the adoption of a more predictable currency system spurred a recovery of the financial sector in 2009. Total deposits in the banking system rose from US$500 million in 2009 to some US$ billion by December 2010. Important vulnerabilities remain6. The Banking sector is highly illiquid, with the bulk of bank lending being short term (90 days or less) with longer-term loans virtually nonexistent. Moreover, the intermediation spread is extremely high with prohibitive lending rates of as high as 30 percent and deposit rates of as low as 2 percent
