Dhaka:Bangladesh Bank has directed banks and financial institutions to speed up the disbursement of the Tk 5,000 crore refinancing funds for cottage, micro, small, and medium enterprises (CMSMEs) and to meet their full distribution targets by November.
According to United News of Bangladesh, this instruction was given during a meeting at the central bank headquarters, attended by top executives from 34 banks and five non-bank financial institutions. The meeting was led by a Deputy Governor of the Bangladesh Bank.
Following this meeting, Mashrur Arefin, Chairman of the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) and Managing Director of City Bank, briefed reporters. Arefin explained that the refinancing scheme was launched to offer low-interest working capital loans to CMSME entrepreneurs. Since the agreements with banks were signed on September 10, around Tk 450 crore has been disbursed in the first two weeks. The central bank is now urging all participating institutions to complete the disbursement by November to ensure marginal entrepreneurs have access to timely, low-cost capital.
Additionally, the meeting discussed the progress of Bangladesh Bank's 'Uddyog' project, which aims to promote youth entrepreneurship in selected districts. Despite a slower than expected response, banks have been instructed to increase promotional efforts at various regional levels. Under the 'Uddyog' scheme, young entrepreneurs aged 21 or below can receive up to Tk 10 lakh from CSR funds, along with another Tk 10 lakh in commercial loans.
In response to claims of hesitation from banks to disburse funds under the Tk 60,000 crore package designed for restarting closed and semi-closed industrial units, Arefin stated that banks are committed to the initiative. He clarified that while providing new credit to distressed units, banks must carefully assess risk factors to avoid the creation of new non-performing loans (NPLs).