On June 8, 2005, the Ministry of Finance’s 364-day T-bills auction No. 19 was held, where the T-bills with the nominal value of 2 million lari were brought to sale. Three commercial banks participated in the auction. 13 bids were submitted on purchase of 40 300 T-bills, with the total amount of 4 030 000 lari. 9 competitive (one partially) and 3 non-competitive bids were satisfied, with the total settlement price of 1 687 969.18 lari, minimum interest rate of 9.80%, maximum – 19.80% and average weighted amounted 18.54% annually. The average weighted interest rate of today’s auction exceeds the last week’s indicator by 9.05%. According to Vice-president Amaglobeli, the increase of the weighted average interest rate is not derived from the change in the market situation, as in the country’s economy no special event took place in the recent period. According to Vice-president Amaglobeli, there is serious doubt that an improper deal was made between two commercial banks participating in the T-bills auction held on June 8. These banks agreed in advance on the margin of the weighted average interest rate fixed at the auction. If this is confirmed, the National Bank will take strict measures. The National Bank constantly monitors the behavior of the commercial banks in the T-bills market. According to the official statistics, mainly 10 commercial banks participate in the auction, and of these – 3,5 banks on a regular basis. According to Vice-president Amaglobeli, the Regulation on T-bills Auctions will be amended: the difference between the average weighted interest rates fixed at the last and the next T-bills auctions should not exceed 3%, unless the auction will be announced canceled. Vice-president Amaglobeli hopes that in the future as the participating banks are active and the competition is sound, the interest rates will come back to normal.