BB frees up Tk 3,000cr for farmers, micro enterprises
The Bangladesh Bank yesterday unveiled a financial package of Tk 3,000 crore for underprivileged farmers, professionals and micro enterprises to keep them afloat.
Marginal businesses and farmers with no usage of banks and non-bank finance institutions will be permitted to get loans from the revolving fund at 9 per cent interest rate.
Microfinance institutes (MFIs) with certificates from the Microcredit Regulatory Authority can provide out the loans.
Beneath the package, the BB will at first supply the fund to banks at 1 % interest, which they will lend to MFIs at 3.5 per cent interest. The MFIs will be permitted to charge no more than 9 per cent interest to borrowers.
MFIs now charge about 25 per cent interest on the clients as their operational cost is an excessive amount of high. But they will need to disburse loans at 9 % beneath the latest package, said a BB official.
Smaller businesses like roadside tea stalls will get loans, the highest amount of which would be Tk 75,000.
If the small businesses are owned by more than five persons, the loan ceiling would go up to Tk 3 lakh.
The loans should be paid back within a year.
But MFIs will be permitted to disburse loans which range from Tk 10 lakh to Tk 30 lakh to micro enterprises and their repayment duration will be two years.
Farmers, underprivileged women, low-income people can also get loans. No defaulter will receive a loan from the revolving fund.
The duration of the revolving scheme is three years and the quantity of the fund will be widened if required, said the BB notice.
In another move, the BB yesterday asked banks to release the required forex to Bangladeshi nationals stranded abroad for the travel freeze brought on by the global coronavirus pandemic.
The BB also asked banks to take the same measures for many who are getting treatment abroad.
Banks must follow the instruction until June 30.
