The high bank lending rate is hurting our industries. Our products are losing their competitiveness in the foreign market. High interest rate is also discouraging new investment and impeding the growth of our industrial sector. Much has been written on this subject but unfortunately no effective steps have been taken so far. Much idle liquidity is lying in our banks and the idle money could have been used in a productive way if the inertest rates were reasonable. Since Bangladesh Bank withdrew the upper cap on bank interest in 2012, the rates went up from 16 per cent to 19 per cent which is not favourable for industrialisation and investment. If we compare our interest rate with our neighbours we will find our interest rate is excessively high. Our economy is recovering from the massive pre-election unrest but industrialisation and investment process have been experiencing a slowdown. The government must take all necessary steps to bring vibrancy in the economy. Bangladesh economy is very much dependent on industrialisation as the country has a huge population and every year thousands of people are joining the workforce. We need to create new employment opportunities for them. I hope the government will seriously consider this issue and bring down the interest rate which will ultimately benefit our economy.
Ameruzzaman Khan
Mirpur, Dhaka
Bank lending rate should be lowered
FE Team | Published: May 19, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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