a) State five services a commercial bank renders to customers. b) List five duties of...

Explanation

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.
• Safekeeping 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 traveller's cheques to customers who are travelling outside the country.
• Advice to customers: commercial banks give advice to customers on matters that affect their businesses.
• Solving the 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 the government.
• A Customs Authority enforces import and export restriction and prohibition by the 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 the 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.