Bank lending rate finally falls to single digit

FE Report
Bank interest rates on lending came down to single-digit levels in November for the first time in Bangladesh, officials said Monday.   
According to them, the latest cutbacks on the once-steep interest rates charged by banks on their credits came following constant persuasion of bankers by the central bank.
The weighted average interest rates on lending fell to 9.94 per cent in November last from 10.03 per cent in the previous month.
However, interest rates on deposits also came down to 5.29 per cent from 5.33 per cent in the latest adjustments.
On the other hand, overall interest-rate spread in the country's banking sector fell slightly further in November as the commercial banks slashed their interest rates on lending more than that of deposits.
The weighted average spread between lending and deposit rates offered by the commercial banks came down to 4.65 per cent in November 2016 from 4.70 per cent in the previous month, according to the central bank's latest statistics.
The spread being maintained by at least 17 commercial banks out of 56 still ranges as high as between more than 5.0 per cent and 8.60 per cent.
Average spread with the six state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs) is 3.90 per cent, private commercial banks (PCBs) 4.77 per cent, foreign commercial banks (FCBs) 6.58 per cent and specialised banks (SBs) 2.41 per cent.
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