The classified loans in agriculture sector registered a significant fall in seven months up to January as rescheduling of such loans was allowed until December 31 last, officials said.
The amount of non-performing loans (NPLs) of farmers dropped by more than 37 per cent to Tk 72.19 billion during the July-January period of the current 2015-16 financial year from Tk 45.19 billion in the same period last year.
"The volume of classified loans in the agriculture sector fell drastically during the period under review mainly due to rescheduling of such loans up to December last," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Monday.
The share of NPLs in the total outstanding loans of the agriculture sector fell to 13.86 cent in the first seven months of this fiscal from 23.72 per cent in the same period of the FY 15.
Total outstanding loans in the sector stood at Tk 326.01 billion during the period under review against Tk 304.35 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal, according to the central bank's latest statistics.
The central banker also said higher recovery also contributed to fall in NPLs in the sector.
The recovery of farm loan rose to Tk 95.94 billion during the period under review from Tk 90.62 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal.
"The amount of NPLs dropped due to strengthening of recovery drives along with rescheduling of such loans," Manjur Ahmed, Managing Director of the Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB), told the FE over phone.
Both recovery and disbursement of agricultural loans have been expedited following close monitoring and supervision by the authorities concerned, Mr. Ahmed explained.
Talking to the FE, Hasan Iqbal, deputy managing director of the Janata Bank Limited, said: "The classified loans in the agriculture sector dropped significantly following rescheduling of such loans in line with the BB's instructions."
Earlier on April 28 last, the central bank issued a fresh rescheduling policy on short-term agricultural loans to boost production across the country.
Under the policy, the banks are allowed to reschedule such agricultural loans under 'banker-client' relationship through relaxation of down payment. In some cases, such loans can be rescheduled even without any down payment.
The central bank had taken the measure against the backdrop of rising number of certificate cases against farmers across the country.
The number of unsettled certificate cases rose to 205,372 as of November 30, 2014 from 202,274 as of January 31 of the same calendar year while the classified loans involving the certificate cases stood at Tk 5.70 billion from Tk 5.53 billion.
On the other hand, disbursement of farm credit increased by nearly 19 per cent to Tk 100.79 billion in the July-January period of the FY 16 from Tk 84.88 billion in same period of the FY 15, the BB data showed.
Of Tk 100.79 billion, eight state-owned banks disbursed Tk 52.21 billion, and the remaining Tk 48.58 billion was disbursed by the private commercial banks and foreign commercial banks.
All banks achieved more than 61 per cent of their annual agricultural loan disbursement target for FY 16, fixed at Tk 164 billion.
siddique.islam@gmail.com
Classified farm loans fall due to rescheduling
Siddique Islam | Published: March 02, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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