BB asks banks to give adequate credit support to farmers in time
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
FE Report
The central bank has asked commercial banks to provide adequate credit support to farmers in time for boosting agricultural production in the country.
Besides, the banks have been asked for taking effective measures to achieve agro-credit disbursement target by the end of this fiscal, central bank officials said.
The instructions came at a review meeting with the officials of eight state-own commercial banks and financial institutions, held in the central bank Monday with General Manager of the Agricultural Credit and Special Programme Department of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) M Abdul Haque in the chair.
A senior BB official said the central bank has already made it mandatory for all local and foreign commercial banks to disburse farm credit from this fiscal to help ensure food security of Bangladesh.
"We've directed the banks and financial institutions to achieve 100 per cent target of the farm loan at any cost by the end of this fiscal," the BB official told the FE.
The banks and financial institutions have achieved 63.38 per cent of their annual target of nearly Tk 94 billion during the July-February period of fiscal 2008-09. The amount is 13 per cent higher over that of the last fiscal.
Eight state-owned banks and financial institutions along with the private commercial banks (PCBs) disbursed Tk 59.44 billion as farm credit during the period against Tk 55.44 billion of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to the central bank statistics.
The loans have been given to agro-based eight sub-sectors like crops, irrigation equipment, livestock, agricultural products marketing, fisheries and poverty alleviation, the BB officials added.
The eight PCB's and financial institutions are: Sonali Bank Limited, Janata Bank Limited, Agrani Bank Limited, Rupali Bank Limited, Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB), Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB), Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) and Bangladesh Samabaya Bank Limited (BSBL).
During the meeting, the central bank also asked the banks and financial institutions to intensify their drive for recovering the overdue agriculture credit, which will help the banks improve their financial health.
"The central bank is now monitoring closely the performance of the PCBs and the foreign commercial banks in disbursement of agro-credit," another BB official told the FE.
Meanwhile, the BB has warned 10 commercial banks following poor disbursement of farm credit despite continuous persuasion to increase such loans to help ensure food security of the country.
He also said the central bank will take actions against the commercial banks, if they fail to achieve their farm credit disbursement targets by the end of this fiscal.
The central bank has asked commercial banks to provide adequate credit support to farmers in time for boosting agricultural production in the country.
Besides, the banks have been asked for taking effective measures to achieve agro-credit disbursement target by the end of this fiscal, central bank officials said.
The instructions came at a review meeting with the officials of eight state-own commercial banks and financial institutions, held in the central bank Monday with General Manager of the Agricultural Credit and Special Programme Department of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) M Abdul Haque in the chair.
A senior BB official said the central bank has already made it mandatory for all local and foreign commercial banks to disburse farm credit from this fiscal to help ensure food security of Bangladesh.
"We've directed the banks and financial institutions to achieve 100 per cent target of the farm loan at any cost by the end of this fiscal," the BB official told the FE.
The banks and financial institutions have achieved 63.38 per cent of their annual target of nearly Tk 94 billion during the July-February period of fiscal 2008-09. The amount is 13 per cent higher over that of the last fiscal.
Eight state-owned banks and financial institutions along with the private commercial banks (PCBs) disbursed Tk 59.44 billion as farm credit during the period against Tk 55.44 billion of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to the central bank statistics.
The loans have been given to agro-based eight sub-sectors like crops, irrigation equipment, livestock, agricultural products marketing, fisheries and poverty alleviation, the BB officials added.
The eight PCB's and financial institutions are: Sonali Bank Limited, Janata Bank Limited, Agrani Bank Limited, Rupali Bank Limited, Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB), Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB), Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) and Bangladesh Samabaya Bank Limited (BSBL).
During the meeting, the central bank also asked the banks and financial institutions to intensify their drive for recovering the overdue agriculture credit, which will help the banks improve their financial health.
"The central bank is now monitoring closely the performance of the PCBs and the foreign commercial banks in disbursement of agro-credit," another BB official told the FE.
Meanwhile, the BB has warned 10 commercial banks following poor disbursement of farm credit despite continuous persuasion to increase such loans to help ensure food security of the country.
He also said the central bank will take actions against the commercial banks, if they fail to achieve their farm credit disbursement targets by the end of this fiscal.