Banks asked to submit farm credit target for FY '11 by June
Monday, 24 May 2010
FE Report
The central bank has asked the commercial banks to submit their individual agriculture credit target for 2010-11 reflecting 5-10 per cent growth over the ongoing fiscal year, officials said Sunday.
"All scheduled banks will have to inform their farm credit disbursement target for fiscal FY11 mentioning sector-wise amounts through a prescribed form by June 10 this year," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE.
The loans will be available for different agro-based sub-sectors like crops, irrigation equipment, livestock, marketing of agricultural products, fisheries and poverty alleviation.
He also said the banks will have to add the undisbursed amount, if any, to the new projection before calculating the target for 2010-11.
The banks and financial institutions achieved 77.74 per cent of their annual target, which has been fixed at Tk 115.12 billion, during July-April period of this fiscal, compared to 82.41 per cent in the same period of the last fiscal, according to the central bank statistics.
"The banks will have to mention the amount to be disbursed by the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in their new target," he said, adding that the BB would allow only well-regulated NGOs to disburse such credit through setting up linkage with the banks concerned.
The central bank earlier asked the commercial banks, particularly private commercial banks and foreign commercial banks, to link up with NGOs to ensure optimum disbursement of farm credit across the country.
The BB official also said the central bank wants to ensure credit facilities for every interested farmer across the country without any harassment.
The central bank of Bangladesh earlier made it mandatory for all local and foreign commercial banks to disburse agriculture credit to help ensure food security of Bangladesh.
Besides, the BB has relaxed its credit policy with a view to facilitating the disbursement of agricultural loans to sharecroppers and landless farmers across the country.
Under the existing policies, sharecroppers, who are directly engaged in farming, will be entitled to receive agriculture loan.
The central bank has asked the commercial banks to submit their individual agriculture credit target for 2010-11 reflecting 5-10 per cent growth over the ongoing fiscal year, officials said Sunday.
"All scheduled banks will have to inform their farm credit disbursement target for fiscal FY11 mentioning sector-wise amounts through a prescribed form by June 10 this year," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE.
The loans will be available for different agro-based sub-sectors like crops, irrigation equipment, livestock, marketing of agricultural products, fisheries and poverty alleviation.
He also said the banks will have to add the undisbursed amount, if any, to the new projection before calculating the target for 2010-11.
The banks and financial institutions achieved 77.74 per cent of their annual target, which has been fixed at Tk 115.12 billion, during July-April period of this fiscal, compared to 82.41 per cent in the same period of the last fiscal, according to the central bank statistics.
"The banks will have to mention the amount to be disbursed by the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in their new target," he said, adding that the BB would allow only well-regulated NGOs to disburse such credit through setting up linkage with the banks concerned.
The central bank earlier asked the commercial banks, particularly private commercial banks and foreign commercial banks, to link up with NGOs to ensure optimum disbursement of farm credit across the country.
The BB official also said the central bank wants to ensure credit facilities for every interested farmer across the country without any harassment.
The central bank of Bangladesh earlier made it mandatory for all local and foreign commercial banks to disburse agriculture credit to help ensure food security of Bangladesh.
Besides, the BB has relaxed its credit policy with a view to facilitating the disbursement of agricultural loans to sharecroppers and landless farmers across the country.
Under the existing policies, sharecroppers, who are directly engaged in farming, will be entitled to receive agriculture loan.