RIYADH, 21 August 2005 — The Agriculture Bank began procedures for freezing the accounts and holding the properties of farmers refusing to pay the installments for loans given to them. The bank will hold transferred and untransferred money as well as preventing the travel abroad of more than 120 farmers refusing to pay installments which reach a national total of around SR7 billion, reported Al-Madinah newspaper. Since its establishment 41 years ago, the Bank has made around 500 thousand loans for a total of over SR37 billion. SR30 billion of the loans, or 80 percent of the amount owed to the Bank, have been repaid.