Says the move taken to help relocate tanneries to Savar soon
Bangladesh Bank on Sunday relaxed the loan repayment and rescheduled policy for the debt-burdened tannery industries which have already been relocated or under the process of relocation to designated Modern Leather Industrial City at Savar from the Dhaka city.
The BB issued a circular to managing directors and chief executive officers of all scheduled banks saying that the central bank had taken the initiative to settle the banks’ loan-related problem of the tannery industries as part of the government’s move to relocate the tanneries to Savar in the quickest possible time.
The circular said the banks would be able to convert the irregular loans of the tannery industries, which had already been relocated or under the process of relocation to Savar, into the block account.
The block account holders of the tanners will get one-year moratorium facility meaning that they will not require repaying any loan in the period. The block account holders will get eight-year duration to repay their loans.
The banks will impose maximum 10 per cent rate of interest or equivalent rate of their cost of fund on the block account holders, it said.
The BB, however, said the banks would have to impose the lower rate between 10 per cent and the cost of fund.
The banks will be able to give exemption, fully or partially, of the unrealised interest, interest suspense or penalty interest of the block accounts.
The banks will not be able to give exemption of the principle amount of the loans and cost of the lawsuit of debt-burdened tannery industries.
The respective board of the banks will be able to relax the down payment policy in line with the BB rules to reschedule the defaulted loans of the tanners, who are involved in the export related business, so that they will get fresh loans from the banking sector.
The banks will take no-objection certificate on the basis of case-to-case from the BB to relax the rescheduled policy.
The tanners, who earlier rescheduled their defaulted loans, will also enjoy the relaxed rescheduled policy for their defaulted loans.
The banks will be able to adjust the instalment of the rescheduled loan by taking amount from the export bills of tannery exporters, the BB circular said.
The block account holders will repay the instalment of their own source if they fail to adjust the instalment from the export bills.
The banks will have to follow the regular classified loan and provisioning policy set by the central bank if the block account holders fail to repay the loan in due time.
The clients will have to give fresh mortgage if they face deficit of mortgage to receive new loan, the central bank circular said.
The tanners will have to submit their documents within six months to the banks about their relocation process of industries to Savar from issuing date of the BB circular; otherwise, they will not enjoy the relaxed policy.
The tanners will get the relaxed policy on condition of banks’ satisfaction on the relocation process of the industries, the BB circular said.
-With New Age input
