Young enthusiasts flock to banking fair
Many people in Bangladesh still hesitate to seek bank loans due to reasons like a lack of confidence and information, though they have been using other official financial services for long.
One such customer was given direction and encouragement, by Mozahidur Rashid, a principal officer at Pubali Bank, on the third day of the country's first ever banking fair, going on at the Bangla Academy premises in Dhaka.
The customer had wanted to get a dairy loan, Rashid said, adding that he explained the procedure to apply for a loan, and advised the candidate to fill out the requisite forms at the bank's branch.
Bangla Academy is a popular venue for fairs throughout the year, including the popular Ekushey Book Fair, and was chosen for the central bank's five-day event to attract more young people to formal banking services, said Abul Quasem, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank.
Banks, financial institutions and mobile operators are participating in the fair, which remains open from 10am to 9pm till tomorrow.
Most visitors sought information on small loans rather than the deposit rates, and most are within 25 years to 40 years of age, said bank officials.
Many have graduated and are thinking about starting their own business with the help of bank loans, they added.
Visitors also showed interest in SME loans, home loans, and credit cards, said Momtaz-ur Rob, an official of Prime Bank. Many students of Dhaka University enquired about getting education loans too. Prime Bank offers three types of credit cards -- Visa, MasterCard and JCB -- and clients can get them free of charge at the fair, said Biswajit Saha, a senior official of the bank's card division.
Most visitors were young entrepreneurs, enquiring about the availability of collateral-free loans, said Shamiul Kaisar, an official of Bank Asia.
Bank Asia offers collateral-free loans up to Tk 10 lakh with an interest rate of around 17 percent, he added.
However, new bank accounts could not be opened on the fair grounds, as the supportive infrastructure is not there; interested individuals are provided with detailed guidance instead, said officials.
Many visitors also wanted to know about agent banking and its benefits, with the youth more curious about online banking, Kaisar added. South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce Bank's interest rate on deposits is currently the highest in the sector, said Fatema-Tuz-Zahra, a management trainee officer of the bank.
But visitors are not much interested in deposit rates, and rather seeking information on getting small loans and home loans, she added.
One of the aims of the fair was to cultivate a banking habit among the school and college students, but not too many students visited the fair, Quasem of the central bank said.
As the rate of interest on deposits is low, there is less enthusiasm for the product, said Md Akhtaruzzaman, the central bank's economic adviser.
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