91pc SMEs don't get bank loans, seminar told

The commercial banks are reluctant to provide loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) although the sector is the backbone of the country's economy, the experts said Sunday, reports UNB.

"Commercial banks provide only 18 per cent of their total disbursed loans to the country's SME sector, which was given to only 9 per cent of SMEs. The remaining 91 per cent of SMEs are deprived of banks' loan assistance," FBCCI's Panel Advisor and CPD Research Director Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem said.

The loans against SMEs as a proportion of total bank lending have declined over the past few years, which is risky for the country's sustainable development, he added.

Moazzem was speaking at the seminar "Bangabandhu's thoughts over SME development and the current context" in Dhaka.

According to the World Bank, the country's SME loan potential market is Tk266.00 billion.

"But the SME sector is neglected in the bank's credit structure. So, the banks are not paying attention to this highly profitable sector," Moazzem said.