This devolution has enabled the delegations to manage projects more effectively and to catch up on any commitment or payment backlogs.

An email sent to account holders added that the banks would waive overdraft fees for those caught up in the payments backlog.

In September, authorities shut the MICEX for one and a half days to clear up payment backlogs. '

Firstly, at the end of 1996 the payments backlog in the new Federal Länder was basically made up and the only remaining delays are with Objective 2 and 5 programmes.

Some RBS critics have also raised concerns that RBS’s decision to outsource some functions to India may have slowed response to the payments backlog and exacerbated the problems.

The report, which says the payment backlog now totals $18 billion, with more than half of it owed by Brazil and Argentina, will conclude that the policy is an incentive for countries to miss their loan payments.

Ulster Bank said on Wednesday 27 June that it did not expect full services to be restored until the start of the following week, but that it hoped that the automatic payments backlog would be cleared by the weekend.

While stressing its commitment to the quality of projects and the primary objective of structural policy, which is to foster economic and social cohesion and sustainable development, it appealed to those Member States with the worst payment backlogs to urgently assess their administrative procedures.