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Postal savings scheme yield

Govt to go back to old rate by mid-March

FE REPORT | February 27, 2020 00:00:00


The profit rate of postal savings scheme that was slashed by a big margin some days back will go back to old one by the middle of the next month.

Finance Minister A H M Mustafa Kamal disclosed this on Wednesday.

He said automation of the sale of savings certificates from post offices will be completed by mid-March, and the profit rate will go back to its old position then.

Talking to newsmen after a meeting of Cabinet Committee on government procurement at Bangladesh Secretariat on Wednesday, the minister opined that the rate was lowered for the time being to stop misuse of the scheme.

Mr Kamal said since the process of buying savings certificates from banks has been automated, many people have been barred from misusing the facility. Subsequently, they have started investing in postal savings scheme.

"When we saw a rush to invest in postal savings scheme, we cut its yield rate to stop their investment in it."

Investment limit in postal savings scheme for individuals is Tk 3.0 million, and it will remain the same.

Mr Kamal further said savings certificates were introduced to help pensioners and poor people. But some unscrupulous people were taking advantage and making excessive investment in those since there was no control on it.

"People, who were not entitled to get their benefit, were taking out the profit," he added.

The Internal Resources Division, through a notification on February 13, lowered the profit rate of three-year postal savings scheme to 6.0 per cent to bring it on a par with bank deposit interest rate.

The finance minister said after automation of the Postal Department, the prospective buyers will have to produce taxpayer's identification number (TIN) certificates.

People, who will buy savings certificates up to Tk 0.2 million, will not be asked to submit their TIN certificates.

Replying to a query, he reconfirmed formation of a banking commission, but said it will take time.

On another query, Mr Kamal said the government is taking opinions from managing directors and chairmen of banks on the formation of an asset management company, which will work to recover non-performing loans.

Meanwhile, the Department of National Savings (DNS) on Wednesday issued a clarification regarding some news items, published in a section of the media on the cut in yields of savings certificates.

It said the yield of no savings scheme of the DNS has not been reduced. The rates of all types of tools remain the same.

It, however, said the profit on deposits in postal savings bank has been lowered to bring uniformity with the scheduled banks' interest rates on deposits.

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