Farm Loan Disbursement
11 banks cut a sorry figure in 4 months
Eleven commercial banks distributed less than 10 per cent of their annual targets of agricultural loan disbursement in the first four months of the current fiscal year.
According to the Bangladesh Bank data released last week, the 11 banks are Citibank NA that disbursed 5 per cent of its annual target, National Bank of Pakistan 0.00 per cent, State Bank of India 0.00 per cent, Woori Bank 0.00 per cent, Bank Asia 4.94 per cent, BRAC Bank 6.27 per cent, BASIC Bank 3.59 per cent, Prime Bank 4.99 per cent, Southeast Bank 6.34 per cent, Standard Bank 2.07 per cent and United Commercial Bank 0.56 per cent.
The disbursement of agricultural loans by all banks, however, increased by 23.87 per cent in the July-October period in the FY 2013-14 compared with that in the same period of the FY 2012-13.
Banks collectively disbursed Tk 4,122.45 crore, or 28.25 per cent of their annual target of Tk 14,595 crore, in farm loans in July-October of the FY14.
In the first four months of the FY13, banks had disbursed Tk 3,327.78 crore, or 23.55 per cent of their annual target of Tk 14,130 crore, in farm loans.
A BB official told New Age on Thursday that a number of banks disbursed significant amount of farm loans as they were now enjoying available liquidity due to lower loan disbursement in the industrial sector.
The businesspeople are now reluctant to take banks’ credit to set up new industrial unit due to the ongoing political unrest ahead of the national polls, he said.
The BB official said that a bank should disburse 33.33 per cent of its annual target of farm loans in the first four months of a year to achieve its target.
The 11 banks have failed to disburse the expected amount of agricultural loans due to lack of effective measures, he said.
He said the central bank would continue to take stern actions against the banks which would fail to fulfil their annual targets.
In the FY13, the central bank deducted the non-disbursed farm loans from the deposit money of the banks which had failed to disburse entire loans targeted to farmers.
The amounts have been kept with the central bank fund and it would be repaid if the commercial banks could fulfil their targets for the FY14, he said.
In the first four months of the FY14, the state-owned commercial banks — Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali — and the two specialised banks — Bangladesh Krishi and Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan — disbursed Tk 2,564.79 crore, or 29.18 per cent of their annual loan disbursement target of Tk 8,790 crore, in farm loans.
The private and foreign commercial banks disbursed Tk 1,557.66 crore in agricultural loans in July to October. It was 26.83 per cent of their total annual loan disbursement target of Tk 5,805 crore.
-With New Age input
