*  *  *  At the end of April 2014 16 billion banknotes with a face value of nearly € trillion were in circulation. This represents an increase of about 160% since the end of 2002. The € banknote, which is the most important one for payments, accounts for around one-third of the total amount in circulation in terms of value.
The reasons this has not happened include: –  lack of commitment of the Primary Dealers to undertake Government securities transactions as a line of business  –  the weak financial strength of licensed brokerage firms that do not have the required wide net work to reach the non-bank public  –  over 80% of Government securities are taken up and held by Banks.