FE REPORT
Speaking at an advocacy consultation, experts and rights activists urged the authorities concerned to take steps to ease the conditions of the reintegration loan for the returnee migrants by Probashi Kallyan Bank (PKB).
They also emphasised designing and developing migrant-friendly loan schemes for economic reintegration and sustainable livelihoods of the migrants and their families.
Ovibashi Karmi Unnyan Program (OKUP) organised the research report sharing consultation on Sustainable Economic Reintegration of Bangladeshi Migrant Workers: The Role of Probashi Kallyan Bank at a city hotel on Saturday.
Bankers, civil society members and senior officials attended the meeting.
OKUP carried out the study with objectives to gain better understanding of the situation related to the disbursement of the reintegration loan with positive and negative factors to ensure migrants' access to reintegration loan.
Speaking as the chief guest, Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry's secretary Dr Ahmed Munirus Saleheen said the bank has been working with a segment of population and gradually trying to solve the drawbacks identified by the research.
As chairman of the bank, he committed to continue steps to simplify the conditions of the loan disbursement for the migrant workers.
Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) director general Shahidul Alam said migration literacy and financial literacy could make the migrants and the families more proactive in solving the problems.
Civil society organisations might be involved in improving capacity building of the bank in disbursing the loans, he suggested putting emphasis on the relations of the migrants while disbursing the loans.
About the status of disbursement of reintegration loan, OKUP mentioned that from 2021 to 2019, PKB disbursed Tk29 million to a total of only 111 returnee migrant workers under the regular 'reintegration loan' scheme.
The study also mentioned that during the FYs 2020-21 and 2021-22, disbursement of reintegration loans increased to Tk3.48 billion among 12,680 recipients.
The study identified some drawbacks in disbursement of reintegration loans that include the problems with finding guarantors, collecting bank statement, proving trade license, requirement of prior investment and fear of loan recovery.
The OKUP study recommended ensuring migrant-friendly customer care services, developing financial products for migrants and their families and introducing online banking facilities in PKB's transactions.
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