Farm loan disbursement in the first 11 months of the current financial year posted 13.47 per cent growth in comparison with that of 8.72 per cent growth in the same period a financial year ago.
The figure increased as majority of the banks disbursed significant amount of loan in agriculture sector due to a lower credit demand from the industrial sector, said Bangladesh Bank officials.
They said the country’s businesspeople had recently adopted a ‘wait and see’ approach to expand their investment due to the ongoing political violence which pushed up the banks’ farm loan disbursement in the last few months.
Besides, the banks has also taken a cautious policy to sanction fresh industrial loan as a number of scams have recently been perpetrated in the banking sector, a BB official told New Age on Tuesday.
Due to the scams, the defaulted loan in the industrial sector skyrocketed by 95.96 per cent in the first nine months of the current financial year compared with that in the same period of the FY 2011-12 when it decreased by 7.52 per cent, according to the latest Bangladesh Bank data.
The defaulted industrial loan stood at Tk 14,960.57 crore in the first nine months of the FY 2012-13 against Tk 7,644.97 crore in the first nine months of the FY 2011-12.
Under the circumstances, the banks have given more attention in disbursing farm loan, the official said.
The BB data released on Tuesday, farm loan disbursement by the banks increased to Tk 12,996 crore in July-May of the FY 2012-13 from that of Tk 11,453.01 crore in the corresponding period of the FY 2011-12.
The farm loan disbursement by banks was Tk 10,533.48 crore in the first 11 months of the FY 2010-11.
The banks collectively disbursed 91.95 per cent of their annual farm loan target in the first 11 months whereas 82.99 per cent was disbursed during the same period of the FY 2011-12.
In the first 11 months of the FY 2012-13, the state-owned commercial banks — Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali — and the two specialised banks — Bangladesh Krishi Bank and Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank — together disbursed Tk 7,545 crore, or 87.66 per cent of their annual loan disbursement target of Tk 8,607 crore.
The private and foreign commercial banks together disbursed Tk 5,451 crore in agricultural loan in July-May, which was 98.69 per cent of their total annual loan disbursement target of Tk 5,523 crore.
A BB official told New Age that a majority of the banks was now enjoying a surplus liquidity due to a lower credit demand from the businesspeople and cautious policy in sanctioning fresh loan to the industrial sector.
The BB data showed that the credit growth in the private sector declined to 12.68 per cent in April compared with that of 18.21 per cent in the corresponding month of the FY 2011-12 due mainly to the recent spates of the political violence, he said.
Under the circumstance, the banks are now investing their significant amount of fund in government securities with a lower interest rate of 8 per cent to 12.16 per cent, he said.
Besides, the banks have also been encouraged to disburse farm loan with an interest rate of 13 per cent in a bid to mobilise their idle fund, he said.
-With New Age input
