Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The central bank of Bangladesh has launched a US$240 million refinancing fund to facilitate cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises (CMSME) across the country.

The government has created the fund with taking financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help CMSME, officials said.

The ADB will contribute $200 million, while the government will provide the rest $40 million to the fund, they added.

Under the refinance scheme, banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) can provide maximum 90 percent of the total project cost and borrower will have to bear the rest of the cost, according to a Bangladesh Bank (BB) notification.

The borrowers will get maximum BDT 30 million in loans, it added.

The BB circular also said the highest tenure of a mid-term loan will be three years and that for a long-term loan will be five years.

The refinancing scheme will be applicable for the projects outside Dhaka and Chittagong metropolitan areas.
The central bank will receive 4.0 per cent interest from the banks and NBFIs.

But the BB has directed the banks to provide loans to the male borrowers on the basis of market rate of interest.
From the fund, 15 per cent will be reserved for women entrepreneurs and the highest interest rate for them will be 10 per cent.

Of the total fund, two thirds will be fixed for cottage, micro and small industries and the rest of the amount will be for medium industries.

For getting the refinance facility for giving loans under the SME category, the banks will have to fulfill some criteria.
One of those is that the bank will have practical prior experience about SME financing. In the long-term national rating scale, they must have BBB- rating.

BBN/SSR/AD

BBN/SSR/AD

The non-bank financial institution (NBFI) came with it as it will disburse a large amount of loan to its clients under the SME product.

The clients will be allowed to receive maximum loan amount of Tk 20 crore from the NBFI to expand their enterprises under the product, Tanvir Ahmed, a senior officer of FAS Finance and Investment Ltd, told the BBN during the ongoing fair.

The clients, who will receive SME loan under the product, will have to repay the loan by five years.

The female entrepreneurs, however, will be able to receive maximum credit amount of BDT 20 lakh without any collateral securities.

The rate of interest of the product is 10 per cent as the NBFI will disburse the loan by taking fund from Bangladesh Bank refinance scheme.

The repayment period is five year.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman inaugurated the five-day long banking fair on Bangla Academy premises in Dhaka on Tuesday aiming to build a banking nation through boosting the ongoing financial inclusion campaign in Bangladesh.

BBN/SS/AI

The clients will not require providing any issuance fee to hold the credit card and also enjoy two free cheque books, Syeda Sultana Banu, a senior officer of Standard Bank, told the BBN during the ongoing fair.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman inaugurated the five-day long banking fair on Bangla Academy premises in Dhaka on Tuesday.

The clients, however, will have to submit one per cent cheque processing fee to use the credit card, Mrs Banu said.

During the fair, the bank is also popularising the women entrepreneur loan in a bid to speed up the country’s SME sector.

The women entrepreneurs will be allowed to get maximum BDT 10 lakh loan with an interest rate of 10 per cent.

They do not have to provide any collateral securities in line with Bangladesh Bank refinance scheme’s rules and regulation.

The product will play a role in increasing the empowerment of the women.

BBN/RZ/ANS