Meet SME stimulus lending targets

Bangladesh Bank yesterday asked banks to fulfill their lending targets under a second round of a dedicated stimulus package for cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises.

Banks have so far disbursed only 39 per cent of the Tk 20,000 crore stimulus fund between July 1 and March 10 this fiscal year, according to data from the central bank.

This has prompted the central bank to arrange a meeting with managing directors of all banks where they were asked to disburse the entire package within this fiscal year. BB Governor Fazle Kabir presided over the meeting.

The governor asked banks to fulfil their respective lending targets on time in the interest of revitalising the economy, a BB official who had attended the meeting told The Daily Star.

This will help minimise shocks emanating from the business slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

The governor also said some banks had failed to achieve their targets last year.

In April 2020, the BB unveiled the first round of the stimulus package worth Tk 20,000 crore for the sector to protect it from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Of the sum, 77 per cent was disbursed. The tenure of the first round of the stimulus loans expired in June last year.

The BB allocated another Tk 20,000 crore for the current fiscal year.

Kabir also asked banks to help importers open letters of credit (LCs) with a minimum margin such that they can import essential commodities ahead of Ramadan, the month of fasting for Muslims.