BOMBAY, 26 July 2004 — India sought to reassure customers of privately-held Global Trust Bank yesterday that their deposits were safe and that an order restricting the bank’s operations was only temporary. On Saturday, the government ordered the 10-year old bank not to give new loans without the central bank’s permission for up to three months, allowing it to make payments only for day-to-day operations or for meeting obligations incurred before the order. “This is only a temporary measure,” a senior banking official from the Finance Ministry, N. Sisodia, told CNBC television.