Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank seeks Tk 500m from BB to provide loan to SMEs

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Syful Islam
The Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank has sought Tk 500 million from the central bank to provide loan to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), sources said.
The specialised bank also sought waiver of guarantee from the Ministry of Finance so that it can get the fund without delay.
"Our bank has opened SME centres in all branches and the SME sector gets loan there on priority basis. So, we are seeking Tk 500 million as loan for the sector," managing director of the bank M A Yusuf wrote to the central bank governor recently.
The bank had started operation in late 1996 aiming at poverty alleviation of nearly 5.6 million Ansar and VDP members through self-reliance. It also aimed at raising their living standard by income generating activities through credit supports.
The specialised bank has established 160 branches across the country and so far its cumulative loan disbursement has reached Tk 11.024 billion.
In 2008 the bank took loan diversity programme and launched 10 types of loan products instead of only one earlier.
Mr Yusuf also wrote that sectors like SME, Agriculture, and the 'one farm one house project' have huge loan demand but the bank fails to contribute properly due to lack of necessary funds.
"The fund constraint is also barring new branch opening and the bank fails to effectively contribute to the development of living condition of Ansar and VDP members," he noted.
There are some 6 million members in the Ansar and VDP of whom 2.48 million are shareholders of the bank.
So far only 0.25 million shareholders could be given loan of which only 10.28 per cent are shareholders of the specialised bank.
Until December 2011 the Bangladesh Bank had disbursed Tk 29.29 billion refinance loan among 27,626 enterprises from the SME and special programmes. The central bank mainly disburses the fund through different banks and financial institutions.