requested to publish the names of licensed financial service providers in the print media on a more regular basis. developments in banking, currency and payment systems 48. during the quarter under review, there was a continued improvement in the availability of electronic payment options. the number of point of sale ( pos ) terminals increased by 8. 3 % to 1, 119 ( third quarter 2010 : 1, 033 ). the volume of pos transactions also increased by 42. 2 % to 284, 145 ( third quarter 2010 : 199, 817 ). similarly, the values of pos transactions increased by 32. 6 % to k113. 9 billion ( third quarter 2010 : k85. 9 billion ). the bis central bankers ’ speeches bank would like to urge members of the public to use point of sale terminals as they provide a more convenient, safer, efficient and cost effective way of making payments. 49. further, the number of automated teller machines ( atms ) increased by 4. 5 % to 489 atms ( third quarter 2010 : 468 ). the volume of atm transactions also increased by 5. 1 % to 6, 654, 992 ( third quarter 2010 : 6, 333, 073 ). similarly, the value increased by 17. 1 % to k3, 397. 3 billion ( third quarter 2010 : k2, 897. 6 billion ). 50. the total volume of cheques returned unpaid on account of insufficiently funded accounts increased by 5. 4 % to 4, 428 ( third quarter 2010 : 4, 202 ) cheques while the value decreased by 8 % to k36. 2 billion ( third quarter 2010 : k35. 3 billion ). the bank would like to urge members of the public to always ensure that they fund their accounts sufficiently whenever they issue cheques. this will ensure that they do not face criminal charges under the national payment systems act for bouncing cheques dishonestly or with intent to defraud. economic programme 51. a follow - up international monetary fund ( imf ) mission visited the country from 28th october to 3rd november 2010 to conclude discussions for the 5th review under the extended credit facility ( ecf ) arrangement. the mission had fruitful discussions with the zambian authorities and reached agreement on a set of macroeconomic policies and structural measures for the remainder of 2010 and 2011. 52. the imf executive board meeting was held on 10th december 2010 and completed the fifth review of zambia ’

government bonds rose marginally by 10 basis points to 11. 3 %. 12. the stock of government securities outstanding increased by 5. 6 % to k9, 940. 9 billion at the end of the fourth quarter from k9, 411. 2 billion in the third quarter. this was mainly accounted for by an increase of 13 % in the amount of treasury bills outstanding against a modest growth of 0. 2 % recorded for government bonds. despite this, government bonds accounted for the largest proportion of the outstanding total stock of marketable securities, contributing k5, 439. 4 billion ( 54. 7 % ) to the entire portfolio. total treasury bills in circulation amounted to k4, 501. 5 billion, representing 45. 3 % of the total marketable securities outstanding. 13. investment in treasury bills held by non - residents increased to k497. 0 billion from k8. 8 billion in the third quarter. the increase reflected renewed confidence in short - term government paper. conversely, foreign investment in government bonds decreased to k127. 9 billion from k150. 5 billion recorded in the third quarter, due to net maturities. collectively, total holdings of government securities by non - resident was k625. 4 billion, representing 7 % of total securities outstanding. 14. developments in commercial banks ’ nominal interest rates continued to be mixed during the reviewed quarter, with the weighted average lending base rate ( walbr ) trending downwards to 19. 4 % from 19. 8 % in september 2010. similarly, the average lending rate ( alr ) fell to 26. 4 % in december 2010 from 26. 8 % in september 2010. however, the 30 - day deposit rate for amounts exceeding k20 million and the average savings rate ( asr ) for amounts above k100, 000 remained unchanged at 5. 6 % and 4. 7 %, respectively. real sector 15. developments in the real sector were satisfactory during the reviewed quarter. this was reflected by higher output of most monitored commodities, and an increase in investment pledges. figures in square brackets are for september 2010. bis central bankers ’ speeches food reserve agency stocks 16. the food reserve agency ( fra ) had 982, 784 metric tonnes ( mt ) of maize in stock at end - december 2010, up from 162, 956 mt at end - september 2010, out of which, total purchases from the marketing season amounted to 883, 036 mt. the agency also had